Copy editor who can report; reporter who can copy edit?

Theothermike · **Posted:** Thu Aug 30, 2007 12:10 pm

This came in via e-mail from the ACES job board:

Quote:

The Washington Times is seeking a Copy Desk editor who also can report and write articles
and analyses on South Asian and Middle Eastern affairs for the World Desk. The successful
candidate must be able to edit and write headlines for daily articles that are published in the
newspaper and on the Web site, as well as take charge of the Copy Desk's operations two
days a week. In addition, the candidate must be able to interview newsmakers and experts,
develop sources and produce articles about issues and events in South Asia and the Middle
East.

Job requirements include a minimum of a bachelor's degree or its foreign equivalent and two
years experience in the duties noted above. In lieu, we will accept three years of college and
three years experience or any combination of education, training or experience that equates
to the minimum requirements. Candidates must pass a written copy editing test and a
current affairs knowledge test.

Salary is negotiable.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:23 pm

This is the most puzzling ad I've seen in a long time.

KfitzR · **Posted:** Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:13 pm

They have a candidate and wrote the job to fit??

paulwiggins · **Posted:** Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:52 pm

Wriiren by management after a long lunch?

Heartodixie · **Posted:** Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:27 pm

paulwiggins wrote:

Wriiren by management after a long lunch?

My God, that'd be a cool job. And in Washington, presumably. Seriously, if I had the eastern-affairs expertise I'd be so there.

gdcfa · **Posted:** Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:05 am

Maybe I'm losing my testiness, but I don't get it. What's so puzzling about the ad? Is there no one else out there who edits copy and writes? What's wrong with this picture?

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:16 am

Heartodixie wrote:

paulwiggins wrote:

Wriiren by management after a long lunch?

My God, that'd be a cool job. And in Washington, presumably. Seriously, if I had the eastern-affairs expertise I'd be so there.

We call this forum "Nightmare Jobs of the Week" for good reason. Trust me.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:17 am

gdcfa wrote:

Maybe I'm losing my testiness, but I don't get it. What's so puzzling about the ad? Is there no one else out there who edits copy and writes? What's wrong with this picture?

Either of those jobs at a real newspaper would be full-time. And it isn't reasonable to expect a reporter, let alone a copy editor, to "develop sources and produce articles about issues and events in South Asia and the Middle East" without being in South Asia and the Middle East at least once in a while.

onceahack · **Posted:** Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:17 am

Phillip Blanchard wrote:

And it isn't reasonable to expect a reporter, let alone a copy editor, to "develop sources and produce articles about issues and events in South Asia and the Middle East" without being in South Asia and the Middle East at least once in a while.

No problem! They'll run the copy desk from Islamabad!

LAEdtr · **Posted:** Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:49 am

Not only is this job undoable, the Times wants the right candidate to have two years experience doing it. Where?

paulwiggins · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:48 am

Heartodixie wrote:

My God, that'd be a cool job. And in Washington, presumably. Seriously, if I had the eastern-affairs expertise I'd be so there.

With respect, Asia is to the west of the US. Such phrases as eastern affairs don't assist credibility. Lumping in Lebanon with Sri Lanka is a tad ridiculous as well.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:36 am

For some reason--perhaps East Coast bias or European heritage--Americans long have called Asia the Far East. Before that, Asia was "the Orient," or east.

As the term "Pacific Rim" gains popularity and Asian economies grow, this might get straightened out. But World War II and the wars in Korea and Vietnam didn't educate us, so who knows.

We publish and read stories about how geography is neglected in U.S. schools. Newspapers are cutting back on foreign coverage. The American public tends to be isolationist in world view unless under heavy persuasion or provocation.

Jonathan Kleinow · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:20 am

So on Wednesday, you meet with your source on deep background inside the Pakistani government, and on Thursday, you delete serial commas that the rimmers missed? Is that how this works?

paulwiggins · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:16 pm

The late Warren Berryman did just that. Health advisories apply.

Docsdoctor · **Posted:** Wed Sep 05, 2007 5:51 am

paulwiggins wrote:

With respect, Asia is to the west of the US. Such phrases as eastern affairs don't assist credibility. Lumping in Lebanon with Sri Lanka is a tad ridiculous as well.

There's this concept of the Eastern Hemisphere that has some bearing on the subject.

paulwiggins · **Posted:** Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:01 pm

Yes but note the usage note in the link you cite.

The term Eastern Hemisphere is not used as often as its counterpart, the Western Hemisphere. The Eastern Hemisphere includes almost all of Europe Asia, Africa, and Australia.

.

Reactionary · **Joined:** Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:09 am **Posts:** 139

In the military we do this out of necessity quite a bit due to undermanning. I'm a copy editor but I also regularly write stories (and do all the work that goes into them, including photography). Obviously it's not an exact parallel in circumstances and conditions but ...

One or the other always suffers. Either the reporting or the copy-editing is half-assed or one responsibility or another is handed off to someone else due to time constraints. You don't want this job. I've had to become a lot more vocal in refusing to cover a lot of news as I've got writers who are waiting on me to clear their copy. I can't be out roaming Iraq looking for news while my inbox starts piling up.

Docsdoctor · **Posted:** Fri Sep 07, 2007 3:07 pm

paulwiggins wrote:

Yes but note the usage note in the link you cite.

Sure, but saying it isn't used as much does not imply that it's invalid. My point is that Eastern Hemisphere has a specific, geographically-defined meaning. You can get to that hemisphere from the U.S. by going in any horizontal direction, but except for Hawaii, you probably would go east to get to Lebanon from anywhere in the States.

paulwiggins · **Posted:** Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:11 pm

We're drifting a tad off topic here.

Heartodixie · **Posted:** Wed Sep 12, 2007 11:22 pm

paulwiggins wrote:

We're drifting a tad off topic here.

No points taken off if a tangent's informative?

paulwiggins · **Posted:** Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:19 am

A matter for the judgement of No.1 and JJ.

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Copy editor who can report; reporter who can copy edit?

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