Editor Problems

"First, do no harm."

 

I know the editor makes me look good on a daily basis so I'm not trying to come off as a know-it-all. This isn't the first time it's happened though.

 

Did the rest of your story make that clear? Or was there room for ambiguity? Remember, the editor didn't see the game. He just knows what you told him in the story.

That being said, again, the editor didn't see the game, so it's really not for him/her to make interpretations, either. But if you're looking to approach him/her, and you have every right to do that, I would start with something along the lines of "this change didn't really reflect the game; how can I write it next time to make it clearer to you and [more importantly] to readers?"

 

I'll say this real quick: Depending on your desk setup, you may want to approach someone else and have them discuss it with them first. Before we went to a universal desk, I was one of our assistant sports editors and helped manage the desk. If a writer was looking to have a discussion, I had no problem with them approaching one of our copy editors. Some of the time, though, they just wanted a confrontation so they could tell the copy editor how wrong they were, so I wanted them to go through me, the other ASE or the SE first. The copy editors deal with a lot of crap and get very little praise, and I was kinda protective of them. When reporters went around us and chewed out a copy editor, it pissed me off. It is simply not a reporter's place to tell copy editors how to do their job. They aren't the bosses. If a writer has a serious problem with a copy editor, it should be taken to the section editor or assistant editor, and that person can deal with it from there.

Since it seems like you're already dealing with a section editor, this probably doesn't apply in your situation, but it's something to keep in mind down the road.

 

As others mentioned, talk to your editor either early in his shift or after deadline. He or she should be open to discussing why your story was re-worded.

In an ideal world, this discussion would happen either as the story is being edited or after deadline that day, but in this modern world of newspapers, that's often not possible.

 

A Who Dat pass?

You mean, like this?

 

As a reporter, your job is to report. As an editor, his job is to edit. Egos need to be checked at the door.

 

I would go have a talk with him/her 1-on-1 and explain your very legitimate concerns. Be gracious and treat him/her the way you want to be treated. All of us make mistakes. If this is a repeated problem, then you have every right to speak up and express your concerns.

 

We had a bad one with our central desk, located about 500 miles away, just about this time last year. A district opponent of our local schools uses the nickname Bronchos and has employed that spelling for more than 80 years. Someone at central, someone who has nothing to do with sports, removed the H all through the story. On deadline on a Friday night.

 

Lafayette Jeff wept.

If I change a story, most of the time, it's to recast something, to prevent the lede being buried or to add a missing transition. I'm no grammarian, but I know how a story should be constructed.

And writers must remember, just because you think it's important doesn't mean you're right. There might be something more important you missed that another set of eyes sees.

Same goes for headlines, etc.