Posts tagged as:

editing

From infotainment to advertisalism: Dallas Morning News editors to report to sales team

December 3, 2009

I smell horses. Do you smell horses?
“At The Dallas News, a New “Bold Strategy”: Section Editors Reporting to Sales Managers”
by Robert Wilonsky
“Dallas Morning News’ Reorganizes to Bring Sales, Editorial Closer”
by Mark Fitzgerald
Twittersphere consensus: apocalypse.*
* * *
ETA (though I can’t say it’s an improvement):
“News Editor Bob Mong: New Business-Editorial Arrangement Won’t ‘Cross Line’”
by Robert Wilonsky
Believe me, [...]

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Diagnosis: Your writing has a tumor

October 5, 2009

A swollen, unnecessary mass of words has invaded your otherwise healthy body of text.
It’s subtle. It’s small. You might not even feel it. But it’s there, and it has to go.
“But it’s not cancerous,” you say. “It’s benign.”
Cancerous prose is so much easier, isn’t it? Easy to spot, easy to remove, no doubts or rationalizations: [...]

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Good Reads: Week ending October 3, 2009

October 3, 2009

I’ve been meaning to post a set of articles that I’ve read and found noteworthy each week. Today seems as good a time to start as any.

When Writers Speak: “Like most writers, I seem to be smarter in print than in person. In fact, I am smarter when I’m writing.” (Arthur Krystal)

The news teaches me [...]

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Feel

July 23, 2009

Sometimes I forget.
When I was a kid, I used to freak out when things went wrong. Seriously freak out. Tears, uncontrolled shaking, heaving. Full-blown panic attack. My inability to draw could turn any science project into a scene from Medea.
Even now, my freak-out tendency can pop up at unexpected times. A tortellini tragedy years ago [...]

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The art and craft of editing: a case study

July 20, 2009

Vanity Fair’s edit of Sarah Palin’s resignation speech illustrates beautifully, in all its technicolor glory, the importance of competent writers, editors, and proofreaders (and research departments):

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