As a stringer, do I have the right to complain about copy editors?

Been there. Seen that.

 

In most cases, the problem is two-fold. First, you're probably over-exaggerating the quality and/or importance of the material that was whacked. Secondly, you probably have a legitimate beef because the person who did the editing probably doesn't care what you think and just took the easy way out. I'll say this: It would seem that the copy editor might take less care editing a story written by someone he's never met than if it were written by the guy who he'll see at the office the next day.

Ultimately, though, these sorts of things happen given the deadline pressure and inexact science of putting together a newspaper. I wouldn't make a habit of it, but it might be worth attaching a short note explaining that you want to use the story as a clip and that you'll gun them down while they're taking the trash out if they fuck up your story.

I can't speak from experience because, frankly, I almost never read my printed articles because I'm too busy writing the next one. I glanced at one a few days ago and noticed that a comma was left between the subject and verb. I didn't give it another thought, and you shouldn't either. The beauty of an award-winning piece isn't only that the reporter did a fine job; it's also partly due to the improbability of everyone involved playing a role.

And, frankly, you're going to meet more copy editors who fix your stuff than you are those who tear it to shreds. The funny thing is that people never notice this. It's a thankless job, and that just might be why some folks are quick to whack the lede to save two inches.

 

Stories get edited for two reasons ... a lack of space ... or they suck. it's pretty much that simple.

full time copy people, slot people and editors are paid to make professional decisions about what's submitted on deadline from stringers and folks on the payroll. if someone turns in something that's not up to par, i'll cut it or rewrite it and i won't apologize because you failed to bring your A game.

if i choose to run somebody's story that came in longer than assigned, but it's gold, and then i cut your subpar piece, i still won't apologize.

if i overestimated inch count and cut your piece because of my mistake, i'm all apologies.

editors are paid to make split-second decisions, which usually makes oversensitive writers whine and i'm OK with that. i just figure the whiners will grow up and realize decisions are made with creating the best overall product, fragile egos be damned.

 

Spoken like a true desk hero, one who holds a major grudge over not getting credit for being the backbone of the paper.

Stories get edited for more than two reasons. One of the other options is some hardass who's spent too many nights not getting any glory decides to slash and burn just because he can, damn it.

Split-second decisions? Do you yell, "Stop the presses," too? The guy writing the story has probably also worked on deadline.

There are some pretty important decisions made in gathering the information and writing the story as well. The story carries the name of the person who wrote it, not the one who hacked it into incoherence.

 

you cry like a 15-year-old girl an hour before her first car date.

i write every week and my stuff gets edited like everyone else's if i decide to show up with less than my A game.

shit man, it's a part of the business. why don't you quit making excuses, lose the ego and grow the fuck up?

btw - if you don't think there are split-second decisions to be made, you either work at a weekly or have never had to make a tough call in your life ... i'm guessing A.

 

I just want to mention that poor editors faced with space constraints can be the death of many a great story. I've seen a few instances where stories that, for either reasons of indifference or lack of skill, were killed while a shitty writer was editing for space.

That's why you always want to meet length requirements. It reduces the chance that this will happen.

 

Literally laughed out loud when I read that. "Shredded into 10." Two inches out of a free-lancer's 12-inch gamer? I have and will continute to turn them into briefs if I have to. Or ask them to write me more if I need it. They don't like it? I'll use any of the other potential free-lancers who contact me at least once a week.

 

Good edit, doc

 

The only time you have the right to complain about copy editing is when an error is inserted in your copy.

Even then, you should be thankful and respectful to any copy editors. God only knows how many errors they may have caught.

 

Truthfully, get over it and over yourself...

Stuff gets cut for a hundred different reasons, most of the time it has nothing to do with the copy editor...

Are there overzealous copy editors out there who will change something just for the sake of doing it? Of course, but if you bitch to them or about them you better make sure your copy is pristine, because the next mistake you make will definitely be pointed out to everyone within earshot...

My motto is that unless they insert an error into my copy, I shut the fuck up...

 

I had this problem a few years ago.

Journalism 101 says if the copy or slot guys say 16, you write 16 on the presumption that 12 will get in. The last four inches should be where the copy guy can easily cut from.

As for the lede, before you get to crazy thinking it was the holy grail of lede's, see the thread on worst lede's ever and make certain your's is not being paraded as an example of what not to do.

Knowing mine is not on that thread, I wrote a great lede for a great Preps game that had a kid carry the load in a final drive that stalled at the one when he fumbled. I actually had time to visit with the kid afterwards and get some quotes. He was obviously emotional, gave a great statement about what happened. I also had a chance to get the perspective of the kid that jarred the ball loose. This drive ended up being the first five or graphs of the story and the quotes were not the cliche'd "it was a total team effort" shit.

I filed, checked for questions about 15 minutes later and was told by the copy guy, great story, nice deadline writing and he had no questions. Picked up the paper Saturday morning to see the last graph cut (meaning the length was almost dead on) and the lede completely re-worked without the quotes, to say that the running back who fumbled, rushed for xxx yards and a touchdown, but Holy Shit prep was defeated by Not Gonna Make the Playoffs High. I couldn't believe it. Friends of mine (which are the only ones that read shit like that) actually called to ask if I took a flask of Bourbon with me. It was kind of embarrassing.

I called on Tuesday when the Preps editor got back to his desk, re-filed my story and asked him what was wrong with it. He was shocked, confronted the copy guy later about it and was told, my story made it sound like the entire game hung on the running back's fumble and the policy of the paper is not to embarrass high school student-athletes. I also found out it was re-worked by the slot guy who had nothing else to do. He essentially wrote from the box score and mentioned the final drive stalled at the one to secure the victory, completely dropping the fumble.

From a stringer's perspective, I'm exactly that, a stringer....so trying to get cute with lede's and shit like that is out. But in this instance, I looked at it as the paper is stringing the game, so they want something more than a few AP graphs for a round-up with a box. I was right, but just didn't understand my copy guy....and that's my fault.

It's funny, in the paper on that same Saturday, was a lede from a staffer that talked about a quarterback's interception stalling a final drive in a loss also. I printed my story, kept the clip that appeared and the staffers clip for examples down the road.

 

I have yet to see a slot person who had time to do elective surgery. Think about it. The slot's job is to read as many stories as possible, ideally all of them. On deadline on a decent-size section, he is not going to be able to spend more than five minutes on any of them. He is not going to do major reconstructive surgery unless running it "as is" is going to result in a call from the SE early in the morning while the slot guy is sleeping. I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the slot does.