Redundancy alert: future plans.
Can plans be anything else? Yes, I know, sometimes plans don't work out. But the context should make that clear.
If someone says "I have a plan," you don't assume they're talking about a plan for a day ago, or a week ago. That person has a plan for something coming up. This stems from people's insane desire to clutter up writing with useless words. If writing exists to communicate, why add filler? No defense exists.
I don't want to harp on trifles. But this isn't a trifle. It's common sense.
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
Sunday, January 4, 2004
'Sup, Will and Nicole?
Will at Stylin' and smilin' has finally graced us with an entry. It's a doozy. I'll quote a couple of bits.
"The Internet is the future of newspapers as we know it. I will always be a newspaper guy as long as there's a tangible product sitting on my doorstep each morning. But our paper's Web sites provide the rest of the country (and the world) with a face of what we look like and what we do."
True enough.
The problem is that revenue comes from the print side. Online publications have struggled to make a profit. Until we figure out how to attract high-profile advertisers to support free online content, newspapers will have to stay mainly in the print realm.
Poor Salon, one of my favorite places online, has nearly gone under time after time. It soldiers on, but barely. Its cousin, Slate, survives on Bill Gates' pocket change.
Also: "This was never meant to be an everyday blog. I guess that violates the rule of blogs (that being blogs need to be updated every day)."
Just update more than every month, Will. That will suit me!
After light posting in November and early December, Nicole returns with a vengeance on A Capital Idea.
Her most recent entry, responding to a Slate article about the Valerie Plame affair. It's a humdinger. Choice paragraph:
"Also, sources leak information for the 'wrong' reasons all the time. That doesn't give the journalist the right or obligation to name them. And if the leaking of this information was a crime, often so is the leaking of other information. It's still not the journalist's job to squeal."
Let's hope this new year is full of such bloggy goodness!
"The Internet is the future of newspapers as we know it. I will always be a newspaper guy as long as there's a tangible product sitting on my doorstep each morning. But our paper's Web sites provide the rest of the country (and the world) with a face of what we look like and what we do."
True enough.
The problem is that revenue comes from the print side. Online publications have struggled to make a profit. Until we figure out how to attract high-profile advertisers to support free online content, newspapers will have to stay mainly in the print realm.
Poor Salon, one of my favorite places online, has nearly gone under time after time. It soldiers on, but barely. Its cousin, Slate, survives on Bill Gates' pocket change.
Also: "This was never meant to be an everyday blog. I guess that violates the rule of blogs (that being blogs need to be updated every day)."
Just update more than every month, Will. That will suit me!
After light posting in November and early December, Nicole returns with a vengeance on A Capital Idea.
Her most recent entry, responding to a Slate article about the Valerie Plame affair. It's a humdinger. Choice paragraph:
"Also, sources leak information for the 'wrong' reasons all the time. That doesn't give the journalist the right or obligation to name them. And if the leaking of this information was a crime, often so is the leaking of other information. It's still not the journalist's job to squeal."
Let's hope this new year is full of such bloggy goodness!
Meanwhile, the Times Public Editor Ponders ...
... Quotes in and out of context. The New York Times' Daniel Okrent makes some excellent points.
A good paragraph:
"Whether plucked from a press conference or a barroom conversation, quotes are not just reported - they're selected. Subject goes on at length; reporter picks a few especially revealing, juicy or simply interesting sentences; presses roll; and, later, the subject cries, ''Taken out of context!" But except when a newspaper prints verbatim transcripts, all quotations are taken out of context. The context is the actual conversation or press conference in which words get uttered; the printed pages of a newspaper can only rudely duplicate it."
A good paragraph:
"Whether plucked from a press conference or a barroom conversation, quotes are not just reported - they're selected. Subject goes on at length; reporter picks a few especially revealing, juicy or simply interesting sentences; presses roll; and, later, the subject cries, ''Taken out of context!" But except when a newspaper prints verbatim transcripts, all quotations are taken out of context. The context is the actual conversation or press conference in which words get uttered; the printed pages of a newspaper can only rudely duplicate it."
Thursday, January 1, 2004
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Out With the Old
Of all years, 2003 wasn't the best for journalism. Remember that Blair fellow, the re-emergence of that Glass guy and too many plagiarists to list? The world continued to boil, but newspaper didn't always put the bubbling in context. The war in Iraq
This is my wish for 2004:
A forceful, vigorous news media. We need it now more than ever. Our country has undergone radical changes in the past two years. The challenge for journalists of all stripes has seldom been greater.
Some have risen to the challenge. Others have not -- or do not acknowledge the reshaping of our national landscape. Perhaps the preoccupations of the news business itself have obscured the national picture.
Reporters must ask tough questions. Newspapers must be willing to publish the answers and live with the consequences. Newspapers cannot sit by and watch the changes. They must interact with them.
But what about copy editors? What role does the desk play in this?
When every week brings more news of national and international import, the basics become crucial. The desk's bread-and-butter -- grammar, spelling, fact-checking -- must be done right.
Copy editors maintain a newspaper's credibility. We must pursue our jobs with the same force and vigor as every other department. If our newspapers print accurate, fair and comprehensive reports, we have done our jobs. And not before then.
This is my wish for 2004:
A forceful, vigorous news media. We need it now more than ever. Our country has undergone radical changes in the past two years. The challenge for journalists of all stripes has seldom been greater.
Some have risen to the challenge. Others have not -- or do not acknowledge the reshaping of our national landscape. Perhaps the preoccupations of the news business itself have obscured the national picture.
Reporters must ask tough questions. Newspapers must be willing to publish the answers and live with the consequences. Newspapers cannot sit by and watch the changes. They must interact with them.
But what about copy editors? What role does the desk play in this?
When every week brings more news of national and international import, the basics become crucial. The desk's bread-and-butter -- grammar, spelling, fact-checking -- must be done right.
Copy editors maintain a newspaper's credibility. We must pursue our jobs with the same force and vigor as every other department. If our newspapers print accurate, fair and comprehensive reports, we have done our jobs. And not before then.
Year-End Searches
How readers stumbled across Copy Massage of late.
copy editing code
headlines + massage
clay massage
how to edit picture massage
massage
massage icons
These weren't the most fascinating of referrals, I know. I just figured I would clear them out before 2004 hit.
copy editing code
headlines + massage
clay massage
how to edit picture massage
massage
massage icons
These weren't the most fascinating of referrals, I know. I just figured I would clear them out before 2004 hit.
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
ACES Board Discussion
Enough of my rambling about Testy Copy Editors. How about some frolicking over at the American Copy Editors Society board?
The latest debate: "mic" or "mike" as an abbreviation for "microphone." (Thanks to a colleague for pointing me to this discussion.)
I like "mic" intellectually. It clearly derives from "microphone" in spelling. But we pronounce the shorter word "mike."
For clarity's sake, I would give "mike" the edge. But just barely. The larger question: Why use the abbreviation in the first place? I can think of few situations where one would absolutely require it.
The latest debate: "mic" or "mike" as an abbreviation for "microphone." (Thanks to a colleague for pointing me to this discussion.)
I like "mic" intellectually. It clearly derives from "microphone" in spelling. But we pronounce the shorter word "mike."
For clarity's sake, I would give "mike" the edge. But just barely. The larger question: Why use the abbreviation in the first place? I can think of few situations where one would absolutely require it.
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