Last Updated: November 09, 1999
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On copy
editing
Our reputation for credibility is the real selling
point; copy editors and other newsroom employees should recognize their
role in enhancing that reputation
We tend to think of news as our product — “news” is the first word in
“newspaper,” after all — but our real product is credibility.
The value of what we do exists only in the minds of our readers. If
they don’t regard our work as worthy of attention, they won’t give it to
us.
Here are some thoughts on productive ways to respond to the “disconnect”
between journalists and their audiences identified by ASNE’s recently published
credibility report, “Examining Our Credibility: Perspectives of the Public
and the Press.”
It’s everyone’s responsibility to reduce the number of factual errors
and problems with spelling and grammar.
Too often, we allow such concerns to roll downhill. A reporter will
say, “I’m not sure if that’s spelled right, but my editor will check it.”
The editor says, “Where is my dictionary? Oh well, the copy desk will check
it.” The harried copy editor, who is busy coding the file, thinks, “Surely
the city desk checked that.” And, voila, it’s in the paper.
If we have staffers who need to improve their basic skills, then our
newspapers should provide skills training. It’s never too late to learn.
It’s also important that we give all members of the staff a reasonable
amount of time in which to do their jobs. Copy-flow schedules need to be
established and enforced. Editors must recognize the need for deadlines
to be met at every stage of the process, not just the last one. Otherwise,
we load a disproportionate share of responsibility onto those down the
line — originating desk editors and the copy desk.
Your credibility is at stake even when using another news organization’s
reporting.
Don’t be too quick to assume that another group’s story is accurate
and worthy of publication in your paper. Otherwise, you risk compounding
a rush to judgment.
And the argument, “Hey, we’re not reporting this, we’re just reporting
that somebody else is reporting it,” holds about as much water as a sieve.
It’s an abrogation of responsibility that is unjustifiable.
Those of us who have worked as reporters know the adrenaline rush of
covering a breaking news story, and most papers remain focused on breaking
news. But we need to recognize the reality of the marketplace in which
we operate. If we think we are still a principal source of spot news, we’re
deluding ourselves. There’s no way we can compete with broadcasters and
Webcasters.
It has been rightly observed that, even though we may not get there
first, we can get there best. If we take the time to get it right.
More often than not, the story you’re about to rush into publication
today will offer even greater value to the reader tomorrow, if you take
the time to make it as good as it can be.
Know your community.
To counter the perception that we don’t know our towns, we need to get
out of the office and learn who’s out there — to spend the time in the
field necessary to develop understanding.
No reporter or editor ever gained a feel for a community sitting at
a desk with a phone in hand.
Editors at all levels need to reach out to communities, meeting with
leaders and assembling focus groups, to learn how to serve them better.
Diversity makes a better newspaper.
We need to persist in our efforts to make the populations of our newsrooms
mirror the populations of our service areas, and to look for alternative
means of accomplishing this goal — if not full-time staffers, how about
free-lancers and guest columnists?
Perhaps even more important, we need to sensitize all of our staff members
to diversity issues. If white people are going to be editing stories about
people of color, which is the entrenched reality in most newsrooms, they
need to be sensitive to the issues involved if the newspaper is to display
a similar sensibility in its news columns.
Each of us must work every day, in everything we do, to earn our readers’
trust.
There’s more at stake than whether we have jobs, or how many papers
we sell, although those certainly are not trivial concerns.
Nothing less than the very existence of the Fourth Estate, at least
in credible form, and its pivotal role in preserving a free society depend
upon our earnest efforts to speak with a credible voice.
Glamann is news editor for administration of the Houston Chronicle and
chairs the ACES board. Contact him at hank.glamann@chron.com.
