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The Copy Editor's Page
Once upon a time, writers could write and editors could edit. But now many writers can't, and many editors don't; and if you are a copy editor, you see evidence of that every day. Having once been a high school English teacher with classes full of 10th graders who had never been taught to either read or write, I'm not surprised.
The effect is to make the always-difficult job of the copy editor even harder -- and more important.
We're not going to win a lot of awards. Reporters do. Photographers do. Page designers do. In fact, if we do our jobs well, nobody's going to know we're here. Nobody's going to know about the misspellings we fixed or the facts we corrected.
On the other hand, if we do our jobs poorly, everybody's going to know.
Let's revel in our anonymity. Let's do our jobs well.
This page has several purposes. I hope to pass on information that will help you do a better job. I want to talk about things that are important to you as you do your job. And I want to give you a place where you can air your complaints and frustrations. I intend to update this page weekly with discussions of issues, your questions and your comments.
That means I want your E-mail. Lots of it.
- Walter Julian
Scripture
The Conventions of a number of the States having, at the time of adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added, and as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution;
Resolved, by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled,
two-thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following articles be proposed to
the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the
United States; all or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of
the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the
said Constitution, namely:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of
grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to
the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms,
shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered
in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a
manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a
capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a
grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the
militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any
person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against
himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just
compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state
and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall
have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to
have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any
court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Irony of the week: Truth or consequences
Question of the week: Where is Cleveland? (And it isn't Ohio.)
Metaphysical question of the week: A man carrying a basketball pauses in front of a store to talk to a friend. He accidentally drops the ball and as he stoops to pick it up, he kicks it slightly so that it rolls through the store's open door. The door is recessed 10 feet from the sidewalk to allow for display windows. The whole sequence of events is seen by the man and his friend. It's seen also by a woman on the sidewalk directly across the street, by another woman looking out a 4th floor window in the building across the street and by a man 100 feet down the block who has just gotten out of his car. What really happened?
First rule of copy editing: KNOW A LOT
Second rule of copy editing: BE CAREFUL.
Third rule of copy editing: DON'T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED.
Angie's Corner
Wherein the law is laid down by our peerless leader:
We'll start with a recurring problem: Confusing DISBURSE with
DISPERSE.
DISBURSE:
to pay out, as from a fund; expend: "The company disbursed stock
dividends."
Synonym: spend
DISPERSE:
as a transitive verb:
To drive off or scatter in different directions: "The police dispersed the
crowd."
To strew or distribute widely: "The airplane dispersed the leaflets over
the
city."
To cause to vanish or disappear.
To disseminate (knowledge, for example).
To separate (light) into spectral rays.
To distribute (particles) evenly throughout a medium.
as an intransitive verb:
To separate and move in different directions; scatter: "The crowd dispersed
once the concert ended."
To break up and vanish; dissipate: "The storm clouds had dispersed by
noon."
Synonym: scatter
****
When we look at a calendar, the first day of the week (on the
far left-hand
side) is Sunday. So a story published in Sunday's paper that covers
something that happened either on or before Saturday should refer to the
time element as "in the past week" or "last week" or
"(insert specific
day)."
If something is GOING to happen within a week after the Sunday of
publication, then refer to the event as happening "this week" or
"(insert
specific day)."
We frequently miss "the previous month/this month" time references
around
the time a new month begins. Keep a calendar handy.
****
The action word is LAY. It takes a
direct object. LAID is the form for its
past tense and its past participle. Its present participle is LAYING.
LIE indicates a state of reclining along a horizontal plane. It does not
take a direct object. Its past tense is LAY. Its past participle is LAIN.
Its present participle is LYING.
When LIE means to make an untrue statement, the verb forms are LIE, LIED,
LYING.
Some examples:
PRESENT OR FUTURE TENSES:
RIGHT: I will lay the book on the table. The prosecutor tried to lay the
blame on him.
((WRONG: He lays on the beach all day. I will lay down.))
RIGHT: He lies on the beach all day. I will lie down.
IN THE PAST TENSE:
RIGHT: I laid the book on the table. The prosecutor has laid the blame on
him.
RIGHT: He lay on the beach all day. He has lain on the beach all day. I lay
down. I have lain down.
WITH THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE:
RIGHT: I am laying the book on the table. The prosecutor is laying the blame
on him.
RIGHT: He is lying on the beach. I am lying down.
Still confused? Use a different word.
Last updated on 2 May 2003
at 1151
All original material on this Web site is Copyright 2003 by Walter A. Julian. Where someone else's material is quoted, credit is given.
