October 2, 2017 by Philip Lewenstein

Important Role of Copy Editing Should be Respected, Preserved

My first job in journalism after college was as a copy editor for a newspaper in southern California. Despite having negative stereotypes of copy editors, I quickly learned that a copy editor fulfills an important, sometimes thankless, role in ensuring accuracy, clarity, and quality of a publication’s content. Copy editing has been a key part of my life.

The skills learned from my job as a copy editor carried forward into subsequent stages of my career and life as I applied those editing skills in my primary career as a communications director, then later as a writing instructor. When I married and had children, I used my copy- editing skills as the “family editor.”

Thus, I was surprised to read this summer that the New York Times is restructuring its copy- editing approach by reducing layers of editing and significantly reducing the number of its copy editors. As described by contributing columnist Ben Yagoda in the Chronicle of Higher Education (July 16, 2017), rather than having a free-standing copydesk, desk editors will handle all aspects of a story, through various drafts to a completely edited version.

Yagoda points out that traditionally there were two groups of editors. “Backfielders” came up with or approved ideas for an article, worked with the reporter as the piece developed, then performed a big-picture edit. Then, copy editors saw the article to press, carrying out duties such as fact-checking, reviewing sources, correcting misleading or inaccurate information, clarifying language, and fixing grammar and spelling errors.

In a letter to employees, top editors of the Times defended the paper’s commitment to copy editing, saying that all desks will continue to ensure a high level of editing, spanning backfielding, copy editing, photo editing, and digital and print production.

The reductions in copy editors may not be surprising given the decline of print journalism and movement to online, digital journalism. The copydesk has often been stereotyped as the resting place for tired, worn-out newsmen. I have an image of the copy editor as an elderly man with green eye shades sitting with a pencil in hand under a small lamp. But despite the stereotypes and the new technology, copy editing is an integral component of the writing and publishing process and is important as ever. Copy editing should be respected and preserved.

It is important to know what a copy editor is and does and why the job is essential for a quality publication.

Copy editing is needed to make sure a piece of writing is accurate, clear, and correct. It’s the step that gets a text ready to publish. Copy editing involves checking the facts (names, dates); checking the math (percentages, totals); ensuring the writing is free from libel (defamatory untruths that could lead to lawsuits) and conforms to ethical standards of the publication and profession; trimming unneeded words; smoothing prose to make sure it flows clearly from one point to the next; ensuring grammar, spelling, and punctuation are correct; eliminating jargon; cutting to fit a story in a designated space while preserving the main points; ensuring the prose conforms to style (Associated Press, Chicago, APA); proofreading print and online pages; and writing clear, accurate, engaging headlines.

These editing skills are important in a variety of professions. Many people edit as part of their jobs; anyone who has had to check a report, memo, or newsletter is an editor.

In The Art of Editing (1971), which I read 45 years ago in preparation for my role as copy editor, authors Floyd K. Baskette and Jack Sissors referred to “the copy editor as a diamond cutter who refines and polishes, removes the flaws, and shapes the stone into a gem…he searches for the ills in copy and meticulously scans the product for flaws and inaccuracy, ever searching for the maximum power of words…think of him as a detective, who incessantly searches the story for clues that could transform the mediocre piece into an epic.

“The copy editor has been called the midwife to the story, the reporter’s best critic. He is like the unsung craftsman in a dramatic production whose skills put the quality into the material that draws the applause for the stars.”

Traditionally, the copydesk was a large desk shaped like a horseshoe. Inside the ring was the slot and around the edge was the rim. The executive who occupied the slot was the slotman. The desk chief doled out stories to copy editors, accepting or rejecting the edited version and headline. I haven’t been in a newsroom for several decades, but I remember fondly my job at the San Bernardino Sun Telegram (now, the San Bernardino Sun) in the early 1970s, working at night on the copydesk, preparing the morning paper.

I recall many of the copydesk characters who helped teach me the craft. Fred, an elderly gentleman, was the night editor who supervised the overall operation and specifically designed and edited the front page. Fred was the gatekeeper, determining what stories would be published. His desk was separate from the horseshoe, and he sat with his back to us across from the news- wire room. Fred knew more about the world—geography, history, politics—than perhaps anyone I had met. He occasionally would turn around and hand a story for the inside pages to the slotman. At times, we could hear him utter a “harrumph” as he read and edited a story. He was often grumpy but in fact was a kind, charming man. If I wrote a weak, lifeless headline for him, he would slowly turn around and show his displeasure by staring at me, saying, “Make them (the readers) laugh or make them cry.” But he expressed appreciation when I found a mistake. He was my ideal of a professional newsman.

Ed was the slotman, quite a bit younger than Fred. He was from Riverside, California, but he had attended Carleton College, his connection to Minnesota. He handed stories to the copy editors to edit and to write headlines. As he initially read stories, he often winced in pain at sloppy writing, sometimes raising his arms and screeching, and sometimes jumping out of his chair. Although gruff and sarcastic at times, he was a mentor to me, and I appreciated that attention.

Fenwick was a contemporary colleague on the copydesk. Like many youth of that era, he had hair flowing halfway down his back. He was energetic, chirpy, sassy, and sarcastic; but Fenwick was bright and an excellent editor who could fine-tune a story and conceive creative headlines as well as anyone.  I also remember Bert, the editor of our county editions. He expressed welcome empathy for our challenge of editing incomprehensible prose.  And then there was Howard, the night city editor, a retired career military man, who was sarcastic about almost everything. But I learned from all of them.

I learned to develop a sharp eye for detecting errors in copy. I learned to be cynical and skeptical, to focus intensely on every word in every sentence, to double-check the spelling of every name and the accuracy of every number. I assumed every story had errors and that I would find them. I had to be an active, not a passive, reader. I learned to be calm under deadline pressures.

Further, I came to understand that no matter one’s reputation, writing benefits from another look, particularly from a skilled copy editor. Thus, I often had to communicate directly with the reporters and writers to resolve inconsistencies and to clarify confusing information; and I learned how to do this diplomatically and constructively.

After several months, I left the news copydesk to become the night sports editor, responsible for editing and laying out pages in the sports section. And a couple years later, I departed and moved to Minnesota for a job with the state’s higher education agency. I had gained an appreciation for the role of copy editor that I carried with me to future jobs and that I still have.

At the state office of higher education, I applied my copy-editing skills as my responsibilities for managing and directing agency communications increased. For example, I served as chief writer and editor for all external communications, including background papers, letters, policy papers, speeches, presentations, testimony, scripts, grant proposals, web content, and news releases. I was fortunate to work for several directors who valued the editorial process and supported my role. Over time, I gained the confidence and respect of staff members, some of whom may have initially doubted the role of an editor.

As a writing instructor, my editing skills enabled me to dissect students’ essays so that I could help them learn and craft clear papers. Also, my knowledge and experience in editing helped me effectively communicate the importance of the revision stage of the writing process.

For the past 28 years, I have been the “family editor.” For my wife and four children, I edit (and sometimes ghostwrite) cover letters and resumes, applications, high-school and college-term papers, and many other documents. Like a night newspaper copy editor, I often have to perform this editing under tight deadlines.

In the computer age, some wonder whether copy editors are still necessary. Yagoda points out that copy editors have faced a rough job market for a long time with tough times in journalism. Copy editors might seem to fill nonessential jobs, and they can be the first to go, he says. Second, moving from print to online can be seen as allowing a no-fault approach to errors—“when one pops up, just fix it!”

With more posting online and less printing on paper, current publishing processes are faster. There is a demand for fast-produced content. Anyone can write and publish digitally, and it is not clear whether online readers care as much as print audiences about grammar and punctuation. Hard copy can’t keep up with digital publishing. Automatic correction software is available to catch grammatical and spelling errors.

Today’s copy editors need to gain a new skillset and to perform new roles as a result of digital journalism. Copy editors may have to deal with multimedia aspects of stories; they may need to edit on the web, thus needing to know and operate different types of software.

However, copy editing is not yet obsolete, and it should not be. Teresa Schmedding, president of the American Copy Editors Society, says copy editors are a natural fit for digital journalism and social media because though digital publishing is available to almost anyone, quality and credibility are brought to content only by copy editors.

There are still consequences for making mistakes. Print editions are not dead, and the appearance of minor factual errors not only is embarrassing but can undermine readers’ confidence in a publication’s coverage of important events, Yagoda notes. Maintaining confidence is important in the era of “fake news,” he says.

Most insightfully, Baskette and Sissors noted 45 years ago that a copy editor has talents that can’t be replaced by computers. They pointed out that editing demands many more intangibles—judgment, scholarliness, background, memory, aggressiveness, motivation, imagination, curiosity, discretion, cynicism, and some genius.

I may not possess all these intangibles, but the development of my editing skills and experiences applying them in several settings have been the foundation of my work from my college years to the present. Because copy editing is so important to the quality of publishing, the New York Times should not diminish its commitment to the craft nor should other employers and publishers.