Drawing broad conclusions from the mood of inebriated copy editors at an ACES conference is folly, of course, but with that caveat I will report a few apparent trends. --Morale is down, apparently because of bigger workloads over a long time. I can’t remember when I last heard so many people complain of “hiring freezes†or other shortsighted methods of dealing with economic conditions that push profit margins below 20 percent. There was the usual recruiting by several newspapers, but it didn’t seem particularly aggressive, with the possible exception of the Washington Post SWAT team. I made the point one night that if desk chiefs really want the best candidates, they have to go after people who aren’t inclined to distribute their résumés and who might not even think they’re looking for new jobs. They should develop intelligence sources to learn who are the best editors and initiate contact. Am I proposing “raiding� Yes. It might start bidding wars in some cases, and that would be good for everyone. --There is an encouraging lack of ambition by many editors at small newspapers, meaning that not everyone is yearning to work for the Washington Post, New York Times or other big papers. The vast majority of us work for newspapers with modest circulations, which need top-notch editors more than the big ones. A lot of them, underpaid as they are, realize that there’s more to life than money. My fear is that managements latch on to that noble principle. --Copy editors are crying out for recognition, beyond the feelings that led to the founding of ACES itself. We all know what I think about headline contests, but I haven’t gotten through. The ACES competition, I predict, is about to become wider. I wish everyone could find inner peace with their obscurity. That said, I will add that the winning headlines of Mysterious Montanan Matt Ochsner were in some ways superior to those by competitors from much bigger newspapers, which leads me to wonder why ACES breaks the contest into divisions based on circulation. I would also like to thank my friend and fellow panelist Jim Montalbano for revealing to a room full of incredulous copy editors that I wrote a rhyming headline on a “Cat in the Hat†story. My reasons were sound but it’s not something I’m proud of.<p>[ March 22, 2004: Message edited by: blanp ]</p>
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