Future of Newspapers Update
I haven't seen as much hand-wringing in the past couple of weeks. Perhaps people want to watch how the Knight-Ridder business works itself out.Interesting points have been made, though, on the...
View ArticleHeadline Advice
You want to write headlines? Here are five tips.1.) Avoid writing them as questions.2.) Don't be cute just because you can.3.) Don't engage in wordplay that makes no sense.4.) Accurately reflect the...
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How did people come here? This is how.copy editors in australiause of the word regimenaren't I+grammarHow long should I stay at my first reporting job? Poyntermy space massage iconsgarbage wordswhat...
View ArticleKnight-Ridder Sale
If reports coming in this evening prove true, and McClatchy indeed plans to buy Knight-Ridder, I think a lot of people will be breathing sighs of relief. Perhaps we can start thinking about journalism...
View ArticlePerhaps I Blogged too Soon ...
Word on the street is that McClatchy wants to sell a dozen of the Knight-Ridder papers. So the drama continues.My thoughts go out to folks at the:Philadelphia InquirerSan Jose Mercury NewsPhiladelphia...
View ArticleMore on Philly
An interesting article in Editor and Publisher. The potential buyer says some smart things.I see the whole Knight-Ridder sell-off as an opportunity for communities to experiment with alternative...
View ArticleACES Article
I have a piece in the latest issue of the American Copy Editors Society newsletter. For those who don't receive the newsletter, here are the first few paragraphs.My copy-editing blog, Copy Massage,...
View ArticleStatus update
Hi there. How long has it been anyway? (Cough.) Awhile, I know.How have you been? Good, good. I've been doing well myself.I've been kept busy at work, attempting to take on new challenges in the design...
View ArticleBlog evolves
Copy Massage is dead. Long live Copy Massage.Well, the address of the blog is still copymassage.blogspot.com. But that will change. The blog has become Editor Evolved, for reasons I hope to make clear...
View ArticleAttempt at a manifesto
Part oneThe news media are changing. No surprise there, at least not to anyone who has followed it in the last -- oh -- decade.For readers, the changes have meant access to a broader array of...
View ArticleAttempt at a manifesto
Part twoIn my last post, I sketched the changing media landscape. Allow me to summarize.1.) More information is available now than ever before. This is a good thing for consumers of information.2.)...
View ArticleFor our reading pleasure
Take a gander at this somewhat extreme column from Poynter.I don't agree with it all. But it aims at the heart of what I'm trying to write about here.Money quote:"What we have become are journalists...
View ArticleLeaving Fingerprints
Editors want to leave them. They want a sign that they read that story, by God. I understand.But resist.Just because you can change a reporter's story doesn't mean that you should. Just because you can...
View ArticleNo, No, No
No, "former New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald," you do not lend a source $2,000. You do not forget to mention this to your editors. You do not do it, even if, as you tell a reporter, "we were...
View ArticleMore on Eichenwald
In a comment below, Tom Mangan raises some good points on my post. This is what he had to say:Clay, have you seriously asked yourself what you'd have done?Which comes first, your " journalistic ethics"...
View ArticleKurt Eichenwald Speaks!
And boy, is he unhappy. Read his lengthy letter to Romenesko here.Right now, I'll let him speak for himself. But I do find it dispiriting when a journalist -- someone committed to open, public inquiry...
View ArticleRidiculous
Normally, I am a stalwart defender of truth, accuracy and the American Way of Journalism. But this tempest in a teapot over David Sedaris strikes me as a waste of energy and sense.To recap:The New...
View ArticleQuick Jab
Headline from Romenesko:"Shafer's surprised more journalists aren't scolding Sedaris"My reply:That's because David Sedaris is not a journalist. Duh.
View ArticleSearched, Searcher, Searching
Without further ado, I'm proud to present the return of the Copy Massage - Editor Evolved search term feature. Here are the phrases and words people used to find this blog over the last month. My...
View ArticleIs Romenesko bad for journalism?
Jim Romenesko's site harms the news media.Let me say that again, in case any of you missed it: Jim Romenesko's site harms the news media. It's not the only negative force, of course, but that doesn't...
View ArticleNot just Romenesko, of course
I don't want to give the impression that Jim Romenesko's sins are his alone.Other journalists are just as guilty. They write about the New York Times or the Washington Post and present the struggles...
View ArticleNewspaper of the Future
My predictions (wishes?), in list form.1.) It will have fewer pages and be physically smaller (perhaps tabloid) in size.2.) It will have longer articles that offer more in-depth reporting an...
View ArticleNewspaper of the Future, pt. 2
I'll add a few points to the list I started yesterday. I'll start with an obvious one.8.) It may not be on paper at all. It may be on some sort of portable device. Newspaper publishers have invested...
View ArticleConversion Attempts
Please bear with me as I resurrect this blog. Editor Evolved is a bit of a time capsule, but I've decided against consigning it to the past altogether.All five years' worth of posts will appear as I...
View ArticleAttempt at Introduction
This blog, closed nearly four years ago, reflects a particular time and space in journalism. Events in the intervening years have made much of what I wrote seem quaint.To summarize: For several years...
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