The subject of this rant is me. That is, something insufferably stupid that I did, compounded because there were safety mechanisms built in to avoid such a thing but for about 30 seconds I was lazy, smug and sloppy enough not to go back and doublecheck. So some poor guy’s name is misspelled in a caption I wrote for a section cover proofed by over a dozen people. And now instead of a having a clipping for his scrapbook (who saves something when your name’s wrong in bold type?), he’s disgusted with the paper and thinks we’re all a bunch of idiots.<\/p>\n
Not all of us. Just me in this case. It feels like somebody belted me in the face. I guess as long as I feel that way about my mistakes I’ll still have a place in this business.<\/p>\n
It’s like a broken record but I’m going to say it anyway in the hope of beating it into my thick head: The safeguards are there to save your ass. Don’t cripple the people who can do the saving. Never be the only set of eyes that sees something before it goes in the paper.<\/p>\n
And finally: Trust, but verify.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The subject of this rant is me. That is, something insufferably stupid that I did, compounded because there were safety mechanisms built in to avoid such a thing but for about 30 seconds I was lazy, smug and sloppy enough…<\/p>\n