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SeaRaven
 Post subject: Is it just me ..
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:46 pm 
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Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2003 12:01 am
Posts: 1112
Location: An undisclosed alpine meadow
... or are newspapers losing copy editors faster than they can lay them off?

Quote:
We need an award-winning copy editor* to supervise our national/foreign
copy desk. The ideal candidate is a wordsmith with expertise editing
national and international news. You must be skilled at slotting and
working with rimmers to improve their editing and headline writing.
Minimum of three years experience in copy desk management at a daily
newspaper required. The Mercury News, one of the nation's biggest and
best newspapers, offers competitive salary and benefits. San Jose,
with great weather and proximity to the San Francisco Bay, is one of
the nicest places to live in the world. Interested? Send a resume,
references and clips to Glenn Rabinowitz, Chief of Copy Desks,
San Jose Mercury News, 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190
or by email to grabinowitz@....

ACES jobs


*Hmm. The only award-winning copy editor I can think of is our own dmfugitive. (Headline awards don't count of course because they tend to be more like, um, a badge of shame.)
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Phillip Blanchard
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:39 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2002 1:01 am
Posts: 8342
Location: Bethesda, Md.
In years past, that would have been a mighty attractive opportunity. If I were looking for a job -- and I'm not -- it would take a considerable signing bonus to get me to San Jose. And I'm not even "award-winning," unless you count the Hearst headline contest in the 1980s.
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Wabberjocky
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:02 pm 
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Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 6:47 pm
Posts: 1734
Location: Washington
It's the Law of Unintended Consequences at work: When you get a newsroom freaked out over layoffs, a lot of people who won't be targeted for layoffs are going to look for other opportunities — and take them even after they learn they've survived the layoffs because a) they're now in a "new job" frame of mind; and b) who wants to stay in a morale-shattered workplace?

It happened a few months ago in my newsroom.
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tommangan
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:41 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2002 12:01 am
Posts: 485
Location: San Jose, CA
This is a great opportunity for somebody who's single, ambitious and good at the work. Cost of living is high, but no big deal if you're planning to move on in a few years anyway.

If you're thinking of buying a home you'd better have 200k in equity lying around if you want a mortgage of less than 2k a month. And that gets you a starter condo. There are no regular ol' tract houses in subdivisions for less than 600k, last time I looked. (Actually, dual-income households can still afford basic housing in this market, but it's a longshot for a single person).

Merc's troubles are no worse than anybody's would be if a 200 million dollar business (classified ads) disappeared practically overnight. We're actually getting a broader swath of Bay Area news in the paper since Singleton took over.

Used to be we had time to grouse over our terrible morale. Now we're too busy. Frankly, it's better this way.

For my money the Bay Area is the best place to live in the United States. I can't afford a house and I don't care. I want to stay anyway. The only real negative is the traffic, but copy editors don't work 9-to-5 so it's mostly a non-issue.
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What They're Saying


"This is like group therapy with prisoners in the Poynter Institute's dungeon." ... "You take a vocation that the simple-minded consider to be mere drudgery, and you exploit every bit of fascinating and humorous nuance imaginable." ... "Delicious" ... "Ask your professors? The only professors whose opinions matter are named Walsh, Blanchard and McIntyre." ... "What I come here for, I can find ONLY here. Phillip, you've built a great place." ... "Nothing gets us hotter than reading bitchy discussion threads from over-exhausted copy editors endlessly debating the merits of "theater" versus "theatre." ... "I love this site. It's better than the Kool-Aid acid tests." ..."I'm awed at the efficiency with which matters of opinion get hashed out in this forum." ... "Phil is the bomb!" ... "I'd wager that it's exactly your sort of hidebound thinking that contributes to the problems newspapers are having attracting readers." ... "I'm totally obsessed with this site. It's like porn--if you get off on Scrabble." ... "It reveals the backstage carping and vindictive emotions that roil the souls of those trapped at the copy desks." "When they say "testy," they certainly mean it. Whether it's reporters, editors, or the general public, no one is above their savage snark." ... "An apparent crack in the thin grey line." ..."Testy Copy Editors is a bitchboard for journalism's underclass." ... "My desire to read 'Testy Copy Editors' is only rivalled by my desire to pop "Constipated Call Girls" in the DVD player." ... "Phillip Blanchard is not just a testy copy editor, but a prophet scorned in his own time, and those of us who defend wordplay will be punished for it come the Judgment Day." ... "Phil Blanchard is as dashing in person as he is at the TCE board." ... "As far as writing and editing go: Read this board, read Bill Walsh, memorize the style book, read William Zinsser, and read the New York Times. That's a good start." ... "You should let go of your bitterness. You were not the oppressed talent you thought yourself to be. You were a miserable, brooding, silent, joyless grind, lucky to have a job at the Sun-Times, and we're lucky now that you've moved on to afflict others."



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