I'm having more trouble seeing lately. Been staring at the screen more since picking up pagination duties. Troubling, actually. Causing sentences to fragment.
At least today I got a giant good catch, albeit too late to do much. (It's never too late? Well, maybe.) I noticed a few conflicts between a story and a cutline I was working on after 11 p.m. This happens regularly, as any copy editor knows. My boss decided to look into one of them, and wouldn't you know, the information couldn't be verified through the property appraiser's Web site. And gosh, the reporter didn't even include the address in the story. (It's in a fact box ... but still.)
After I'd finished the story, I went to the clerk of courts Web site. Interesting. The people in the story -- they're raising money to refurbish a building and make it a community center or some such -- went to court earlier this year with two different banks about foreclosure. More research: They were in court a few years ago with another church.
I printed out the info and left copies for the Metro desk. We'll see where it goes.
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4 comments:
Nice catch, Beth. One windmill I keep tilting at in my newsroom is for reporters and photographers to compare notes on cutline info. I'm always having to call up one or the other and say: "Okay, you have it spelled 'Johnson' and he has it spelled 'Johnston' ... which is it?"
But that cross-checking just never happens. Too many people in the newsroom are too invested in the path of least resistance. And, in a way, having me as the bottom-line guy gives them the luxury to fuck up because they probably know that I'll straighten it out.
Indeed. Today, I had another question for Metro. It was a simple question, about a meeting location. The editor's voice was full of disdain. I thought, this is your second day of work and my fifth, so why are you so hot and bothered?
Also, it appears they've done nothing with the information. Maybe I'm wrong in what I read, but I'm pretty certain REAL PROPERTY/MTG FORECLOSURE is not what an editor should find about a couple seeking donations for their building fund. How far gone does someone have to be to have the F word listed in a civil court docket?
But I guess I'm just a pedantic nitpicker.
You gotta pick and choose your battles. Otherwise, you'll just be the buzzing fly they'll swat away.
How oddly funny. You're a wordy girl like me, and we both have selected the exact same Blogger layout. Ane we're both in Florida, apparently. Strange...
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