Read and Blog No. 1

I concluded two ideas about copy editing from the first set of online readings: first, copy editors must be perfectionists. Secondly, I believe journalism is moving from a constant state of competition to one of community.
I first realized the importance of perfection from when I was an editor of my yearbook in high school. I hated seeing even the smallest grammar mistake forever ruin a caption - especially a grammar mistake I had fixed three times before deadline. Since then, my experience in college has only reiterated this idea. Not only will the term "fact error" forever cause a knot in my stomach, but I've learned to read every publication critically and triple-check my own writing. The checklists for editors provided in the readings also encourage this idea: mistakes in news stories are not permitted because the goal of journalism is to report the truth - even if that means doing some dreaded math.
One of the questions that struck me the most was whether or not a story has enough information for readers to form their own opinions about the event. I hadn't ever thought of news stories in this mind set, and as a copy editor, I believe this is hugely important. Not many people read a news story before it is published. The copy editor thus serves as the first reader of the story and the perfecter of the information.
As the Internet becomes more and more a part of our lives, the American Society of Copy Editors has discussed the changing role of copy editors at newspapers. Not only do they perfect copy but also page designs, news briefs and website material. Many publications have changed the name from a "copy desk" to the "presentation desk." The material presented, however, still has to be perfect, even when the copy editors work with many different people to get the information published.
I found the article on the status of the Internet at The New York Times very interesting. Though written a year and a half ago, many of the same issues are relevant today. Publications are still deciding whether or not to make their website free. Journalists who learned how to type on typewriters now have to think "Web first" when reporting and collaborate not only with their editors but also with Internet technicians at their media organizations. Newspapers have gone from printing the news to presenting it in a collaborative way. Twitter - and especially Twitter Lists - are evidence of the community arising from journalism online. Blogs and social networking add to the Internet world of individuals working together to present the news quickly and - most importantly - truthfully.