One of my pet peeves is rearing its head on the desk, again

So you basically show up the writers, the ones who made the original mistakes, to the bosses? Not good for team morale, I wouldn't think.

Part of a writer's job is to not make mistakes. But it's presumed that he/she will, in fact, make some, since that is part of the copy editor's job -- to catch mistakes. Reporters and writers are reacting to people who actually make news, copy editors are reacting to the reactors.

I see how it might be helpful to the copy editor to let the bosses know how thorough and accomplished he/she is, but pointing out catches in staff-written stuff still is going to reflect poorly on the staffer. And probably lodge in the bosses' minds more as a demerit to the writer than as a brownie point for the copy handler.

BTW, very few writers I know ever make a big scene in the office, if only because very few of them actually go into the office. That's not to say they don't bitch to the next day's slot man or even to the big bosses. That, too, strikes me as bush league -- the writer and the copy editor ought to deal with this stuff one-on-one.

Reminds me of the Jay Glazer thread: You do a good job, act like you've been there before.

Or, in these troubled times, maybe all the foot soldiers should have a pact to only sing their peers' praises, lauding copy editors to the bosses for great catches and writers to the bosses for their terrific copy. :

 

So you've been to our desk?

 

You certainly read quite a lot into a single sentence. Please don't pretend that you know me or how I get along with my co-workers.

It's not a matter of "Boss, boss, you'll never guess what Joe Williams fucked up and I caught!" It's more a matter of privately logging the big catches and rolling them out at self-evaluation time. Don't know what your self-assessments are like, but ours call for specifics. I offer them.

 

Fair enough, Bump. Don't know you and have no evidence that the writers at your place resent you for pointing out their errors to the boss.

 

My favorite one was from a soft-spoken guy who sat next to me.

He sighed as he finished a story, turned to me and said, "Do you suppose we should put the score in here somewhere?"

Subtlety, folks.

 

If it's a big error, especially caught on deadline, that's fair.

I also would let the writer and bosses know if someone consistently makes the same types of mistakes (gets basic facts wrong in game stories, misspells names all the time, etc.)

If it's someone making a typo or stray error here and there, you fix it, maybe tell the writer, and go on.

 

Peeves should never be kept as pets, especially in the workplace. Peeves should be allowed to roam wild just as nature intended.