editing

Canadian Magazine Commits Incredibly Charming Copy-Editing Error About 10-Gallon Hats

Andy Cush · 06/03/16 03:10PM

Before a piece of journalism is published in a magazine or newspaper, it usually undergoes one or several rounds of edits, designed to make its arguments more forceful, its narrative more compelling, its language more unified, or its spelling and grammar more accurate. Occasionally, due to some small ignorance or misunderstanding about a writer’s meaning, an editor will make a change that has precisely the opposite of this clarifying effect. If you’ve read the headline on this post and know anything about the standard versus metric systems of measurement, you may already know where I’m going with this.

What Meryl Streep and Hillary Clinton's BFF Selfie Photo (Probably) Looks Like

Max Read · 12/03/12 09:35AM

Last night, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep did what any self-respecting pair of BFFs does when they're together at "the club" (in this case, the Kennedy Center Honors gala): they took a selfie. Unfortunately, we don't have access to Streep's iPhone, and will likely never see the original photo. But we can imagine what they might have done with it afterward, in the social image editor of their choice:

This Avid vs. Final Cut Video Perfectly Sums Up The Last Nine Years of My Life

Matt Toder · 04/08/11 02:30PM

When I first started editing way back in 2002, Avid was an undisputed tyrant who ruled the land of digital non-linear editing with an iron fist. Then Final Cut Pro came along and editors everywhere were given a choice of platform. As this clip makes clear, it's really just a choice between the lesser of two evils.

Here's a Washington Post Story With All the Editor's Notes In It

Hamilton Nolan · 03/15/11 09:02AM

If you spend more than five minutes talking to an editor, you're sure to hear about how some story or other was a total piece of shit before said editor got his hands on it. Now you can judge for yourself! The Washington Post mistakenly posted this health story by Laura Ungar online with ALL OF THE EDITOR'S ALL-CAPS NOTES INCLUDED. [The final version of the story hasn't been published yet.] We've pasted it below in case it gets pulled. Editors make typos, too! Kill them!

The Daily Beast Has Stopped Editing Meghan McCain

John Cook · 12/16/10 10:53AM

Meghan McCain is the illiterate daughter of a ruined man, which makes her "column" for the Daily Beast something of a challenge for her editors. But by the looks of today's offering, they've given up.

Comical PR Man Has No Time For Editing Or Democracy

Hamilton Nolan · 07/24/08 09:08AM

As soon as you see an op-ed which begins, "As the owner of one of the 25th largest public relations agencies in the U.S.," you should immediately guess that it's an opus by none other than language-challenged sock puppeteer and unapologetically incompetent superflack Ronn [sic] Torossian, head of 5WPR. "Let's begin with the basics: Bribery is unacceptable, yet for a democracy or civilized government, it is wholly abhorrent," writes Ronn. Please explain, sir!

'Post' on 'Mamma Mia': "[?]"

Pareene · 07/18/08 08:24AM

We got tipped on this an hour ago and happily it still hasn't been corrected. The New York Post's review of Mamma Mia comes with bracketed editor's notes asking the reviewer to clarify vague passages! At no extra charge! Anyone want to check the print version for us? In case they fix it, click to see the screengrabs. [NYP]

Copy Editing Cliches

Hamilton Nolan · 05/29/08 02:03PM

A media company identifying itself as "Cond Nast Publications" is in need of a copy editor. Specifically, the ad says, "TheAssociate Copy Editorreviews copyedited text." Urgent, please apply now! Click through for a screengrab of thisjobopportunity.

Hey! Edit This!

Sheila · 05/29/08 01:43PM

Do you ever feel that your editor is making a mockery out of your work? Sometimes they just don't understand. The Raleigh News & Observer sends up an imagined editing of a recent NYT story. [Which NYT story? Specify!]