CJR’s Campaign Desk looks at how the New York Times, New York Post, Washington Post and Washington Times covered the 9/11 commission hearings. Conclusion: only one of the four opened with a balanced perspective, and the other three reflected the…
Category: Editing commentary
A nod to the shooters
“I intensely dislike seeing any of our pictures manipulated in any way.” David Viggers, Reuters? photo editor From an editorsweblog post on UK newspapers that cropped body parts out of their pictures of the Madrid bombings. Yeah, it’s another self-important…
Talk about an omission
Has it occurred to anybody that we’re into our fifth (fourth?) year of this decade and nobody’s given it a name yet?
Those poor Posties
Something I missed when Romensko posted it last month: Washington Post guidelines for sourcing, quotes, datelines, etc. For kicks I did a Microsoft Word word count: it weighs in at 3,500-plus. Oughta be something in the Guild contract protecting members…
You call this freedom?
Jen over at Nonsense Verse says keepin’ it real ain’t really an option anymore, at least not on her blog. It was all well and good to be all deep-down and true when nobody was paying any attention. These days…
Rule No. 1: Don’t be a fucking moron
I can’t imagine what the excuse was for an editor changing “pro-life” to “anti-abortion” in an opera review that had nothing to do with abortion, but whoever you are, well: Thanks for all your help. Seems like every other day…
Facts on fonts
Which is better, serif or sans serif? Answers abound at Testy Copy Editors
Nitpick of the day
From the story on the BaltSun’s new editor, in Editor & Publisher. The most unique move, creation of a demographics beat, is based on the paper’s need to improve coverage of the city’s changing population, the editor said. Two points:…
Like fish in a barrel
It’s that easy for the folks at Testy Copy Editors to dismiss missives posted at The Poynter Institute’s site. Choice zinger of the morning: Myth No. 6 about short writing: Poynter’s “senior scholars” know something about the subject. Speaking of…
On writers being editors
Book editor and freelance writer Jen Weiss passes some tips along. Once you’ve finished writing, try putting it away for a while. A day, a week?however long it’ll take you to nearly forget about it. Most writers I know agree…