It has been a while since my last post, and if anyone is still reading, please click through to read the following article on the plight of copy editors.
I am a copy editor. I do not work in journalism, exactly, though perhaps I work on its academic fringe. I am a copy editor of financial research; I prepare research for global distribution, online and in dead-tree journals. My job is to take what you have written, what you have spent hours, days, or perhaps even years to create, and to turn it into prose that reflects your intelligence and hard work. I eliminate redundancies, correct logical errors, and, overall, make your work look good and be easily understood. Yes, the factual problems are yours, and the general concept of the paper will not benefit from my efforts, but when I'm done, you'll know.
Copy editors are under-appreciated. They always have been and they always will be. It is unfortunate that the world of the Internet, where news is posted ad infinitum, seems less willing to embrace the perfectionism once requisite for news sources.
For me, when I read news online and find large numbers and types of mistakes, I am less willing to accept the article at its word. For me, these mistakes signify a lack of caring, which in turn make me suspicious of any claims made within. For instance, if you can't figure out which type of dash to use, en or em, why should I believe that 365 peopled died in an airline accident. Maybe it was 36.5. It could have been 3.65 people who died in a hang-gliding accident.
Just know: A copy editor is your last line of defense against mistakes and embarrassment. We are full of knowledge--useful and useless--because we read all day, every day, for a living. Appreciate your copy editor, help him or her do their job, and appreciate it when they point out your mistakes. After all, that's why you need them.
