Published: March 23, 1996
Last Updated: March 23, 1997
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Copy editors with a sense of adventure may find fulfillment working on a frontier of the field, where the rules are flexible and the methods are reinvented overnight. According to panelists, the need for editors in online media grows daily.

"Copy editors are going to have to play a role in it," said Ann Brill of the University of Missouri. "We cannot afford to lower the quality just because it's on the Internet."

Experience counts. "As a copy editor, you've got the hard part done," said Tom Cekay, virtual communities editor of the Chicago Tribune. "You know how to write headlines and cutlines and make news judgments. Learning the software is relatively easy."

Some tips:

• Work closely with communities, churches, social agencies to develop comprehensive reference directories under the newspaper's umbrella.

• Devote enough people, and don't stretch them too far. A good photographer may not be a good videographer.

• Teach reporters what you need from them.

• Build on expertise to claim a niche; offer something unavailable on any other Web site.

• Learn to seize opportunities to engage readers interactively in the news.

• Figure out early how the online operation fits into the newsroom.

• In smaller operations, scale back ambitions. It's better to do a small thing well than a grand thing poorly.

• As with any startup business, come in every day thinking your job is at stake.

• Know yourself. If you're uncomfortable with rapid change, this isn't for you.