Why doesn't my SE know how to write?

Sometimes the answer to "why can't my editor write" is because your editor hasn't written anything in years. Done right, you can learn a lot about writing by editing other people's work, but if you don't have the time or inclination to write, those skills can atrophy, especially if you weren't all that great to begin with.

I can see dismissing someone based on errors in a cover letter or resume, which I do (I hire). After all, the writer is in full control of those, and the writer also has, comparitively, all the time in the world to get those right. If I see great writing and only a couple of typos or grammar errors in a series of clips, I'll give 'em a pass (at least to the interview stage). If it's mediocre with errors, no. If it's good but TONS of errors -- well, I haven't seen that yet.

If you have a few errors (a few, not a lot) from a 20,000-circ paper, a sports editor or whoever is hiring might give you a pass if the work is strong. They might understand that at that size of a paper, you might be getting a substandard or overworked editor who's either missing or inserting the errors. That said, I've learned to take clips with the proverbial grain of salt. The danger is when someone has a GOOD editor -- then you can a job candidate who looks like he or she can write, but what's happened is the good editor has done most of the heavy lifting. That's why I use the magic of Google to find clips that weren't sent to me, so I can get a fuller review of a candidate.

 

Probably more than one ;D

 

You really raise the standards for your posts when you complain, eh?

 

sir - i set the bar so damned high it's sick.

 

'All right' is two words, Mr. Editor.

 

Since I've been at my job (which is less than a year) my SE has entered an error into two of my stories, botched a layout on my feature that the Associated Press picked up (luckily the full story was online) and written columns that A) have nothing to do with sports, and B) are the subject of laughter amongst his own staff and the community. Thank GOD he's leaving, even though I have no idea how in hell he got another gig.

 

Damn interns...they think they know everything, and all they do is complain.

Oh. Wait.

 

You have better clips than that one anyway.

 

that's a helluva point flash. i'll take sixteen lashes alright.

 

Dear Sir(Valiant):

Yes, your editor screwed up. But how about you learn to write without the use of cliches?

Yours: The Flyers are having trouble putting the puck in the net.

C'mon. Just use SCORING.

As a fellow journalist (who happens to be an excellent grammarian) noted during the World Cup after listening to Dave O'Brien for the umpteenth time, you don't have to put the ball in the "back of the net" to score, you just have to get it over the goal line.

 

Workin' on it, Tahoe.

Thanks for the, uh, constructive criticism.