A search for subs

Susan Keith, a former newspaper copy editor who now teaches journalism at Rutgers University in New Jersey, is conducting a research project into "the ongoing evolution of newspaper sub editing/copy editing jobs in the English-speaking world".

However Keith appears to be having some difficulty finding subs in the UK, Ireland and South Africa to interview. If you're a current or former newspaper sub in one of these countries, please consider helping her.

Here's a description of the research project, and Susan Keith's contact details.

Keith's search for subs has already been mentioned on John McIntyre's blog You Don't Say, but I thought it bore repeating. And thanks to R Mason for bringing it to my attention.

Flickr group: 'Sub editors untie!'

I've been using Flickr for a while now to store The Engine Room's photos, and I've just created my own Flickr group, 'Sub editors untie!', for people to share any photos that might be of interest to sub editors, copy editors, proofreaders and other editorial staff (as well as language fans of all professions).

I suppose that means the type of thing I blog about: headlines, interesting points of language use, typography, editing mistakes. But I don't want to be too prescriptive.

If you are a Flickr user, please consider joining this group and adding a few photos to it. I might feature some of them on this blog.

And in case you were wondering: the name of the group is 'Sub editors untie!' rather than 'Sub editors, untie!' because it's as much a statement as it is an instruction.


Flickr group: 'Sub editors untie!'

Sub deaths caused by 'failures'

It's dangerous work being a sub editor, at least according to the third story in this BBC News widget:


(Actually, the story was about submariners...)

'The most miserable, put-upon job in media'

Yesterday my line manager forwarded me on a link to a Guardian Unlimited blog post by Roy Greenslade regarding the future of subs ('copy editors', for those Americans out there). In it, Greenslade says: "I can see that they will be the first journalistic victims of the digital revolution."

Although I was a little disturbed that my line manager sent this on to me – is he trying to tell me something? – I was also amused by the comments that the blog post had attracted, many of them written by reporters or subs. Among my favourites:

The reason people become reporters is because they want to find out things and see their byline on important stories. This rarely goes in hand-in-hand with being an enormous pedant who loves words, has a dirty mind and suspects that everyone else constantly makes mistakes, which is what makes a great sub.

and:

Subs, if you want to persist in the most miserable, put-upon, unappreciated and least perks-laden job in media, start coming up with ideas. You are the most talented members of staff, you must be able to do it. Tell the writers how they can improve, in a nice mentoring way, preferably in front of someone important. Make suggestions about improving the system and let the boss think it was their idea. Above all else, write stuff. They will find it much harder to get rid of you.

Roget: 'headline writers and journalists'

There was an interesting article on Peter Roget, creator of the thesaurus, in The Times' Books section yesterday. I took a little exception at the following though:

At its worst, [a thesaurus] is a crutch, for crossword enthusiasts, students desperate to imply a little learning in an essay crisis, headline writers, nervous after-dinner speakers and, yes, journalists.

Headline writers and journalists? All the headline writers I've ever met have been journalists. Perhaps Ben Macintyre, who is the author of this piece, means 'headline writers and other journalists'.

In the same way, it bugs me when people (including some of my colleagues) refer to 'production staff and journalists'. Sub editors and designers can be journalists too!

Wikipedia agrees with me on this.

New media: JD is the Champion

I know it says at the top of the blog that I'm a sub-editor (copy editor if you like) on a weekly UK magazine, but that's not strictly true. We've had a restructure recently – which is how Apus managed to engineer his departure – and now I'm a sub editor on two weekly UK magazines (although much more on one than the other).

I am also spending an increasing amount of time working on our 'web publication'. Since the restructure each member of the production desk has been given 'championship' of a particular 'brand', and I am 'Web Champion'. I even have this written in the first paragraph of my job description. With initial caps, no less. And sorry about all the 'inverted commas', but I don't normally use these buzzwordy phrases.

As a result of my increasing involvement with the –ahem– web publication, I can imagine that this blog is going to be addressing new-media-related issues more and more. You may see this as a good or a bad thing, but if it does interest you I would like to recommend the blog Engagement 101. It even uses phrases like "the new journalism tools afforded by the Web 2.0 world"...

One of my duties as Web Champion is to write a daily blog post summarising the events of the day in a particular industry. So that makes me, sort of, a professional blogger. On a part-time basis, at least. Must have been all that practice here on The Engine Room...

Collective nouns: subs and designers

As you may be aware, Apus is soon leaving for pastures new and he is currently enjoying a round of leaving dos.

Yesterday it was the turn of our esteemed freelancers to be taken to lunch – and I thought at the time that never before had I seen so many subs in one place. That led me to wonder what a good collective noun for a group of sub editors (or copy editors, if you prefer) might be. A proof of subs, perhaps? A correction of subs?

I don't want to leave our design colleagues out, so perhaps we should come up with a collective noun for them too. A scribble of designers? A scrawl of designers?

I'm sure your ideas will be better than mine...