Goodbye copy desks, hello trouble?

Newspaper Research Journal, Spring 1998 by Russial, John

In part, the issue is that the product of a daily newspaper newsroom is very different from the product that reengineering consultants are discussing. In the previous example, IBM consumer credit created a new process - one that would be repeated with minor variation by a new class of generalist employee. On the surface, what copyeditors do looks highly repetitive, somewhat analogous to the IBM consumer credit process. Beneath the surface, it is anything but repetitive. Rather than executing a process or designing a product that will be placed into production, copyeditors face different sorts of challenges with different stories. In effect, they are constantly redesigning a product.

Technology issues

Another difference is in the application of computer technology. In the IBM Credit example, and in successful reengineerings in general, according to Hammer and Champy, technology enables companies to transform processes, but it is not the driving force. It is not used merely to increase efficiency of existing processes or to automate those processes.31 In the newsroom, the picture is mixed. In some cases, technological changes are enabling organizational changes; in other cases, they seem to be driving organizational changes.32 For example, the first tip offered by Steve Sidlo, managing editor of the Dayton Daily News, to preserve quality while paginating is: "Reorganize your production desk to take advantage of pagination s strengths and minimize weaknesses."33 Both Wichita and St. Paul reengineered their desk operations at the time they instituted pagination. In Wichita, Weaver said that concern about the production burden of pagination was a factor in the decision to move copyeditors onto topic or presentation teams. She said she felt moving copyeditors to reporting teams was a way to preserve the quality of copyediting, noting that many papers had compromised copyediting when they added pagination to copyeditor duties.34

Copyeditor training

How will a newspaper maintain and improve copyediting quality if there is no copy desk? At a well-edited newspaper, the slot is a teacher- a teacher of copyeditors and often of reporters too. Ryan is one who has mourned the loss of that teaching function, a loss he blames primarily on pagination.35 Reengineering the copy desk out of existence would compound the loss. Even at the best-edited papers, many copyeditors need training. They don't start at full speed, they need to learn the paper's style and approach, they need to learn many things that aren't readily available in a style guide or procedures manual. The slot is typically the trainer. He or she works alongside rim editors and is available to answer questions and improve headlines.

Gene Foreman says he feels that copyeditors dispersed to teams will lose the close mentoring relationship they have with a slot.3 Team leaders, he says, will not be able to provide training for copyeditors; they will tend to focus on reporting and on solving reporting problems. The Star Tribune has attempted to address this issue. Its general assignment copy desk is used to train interns and new copyeditors, and the paper's two senior copyeditor/ advocates for copyeditors have taken on some training and staff development functions.37 Wichita has a team of interested editors who meet and discuss copyediting issues.38 The (Portland) Oregonian's hybrid approach may be more effective at promoting staff development. The Oregonian has moved several copyeditors to teams while it has retained its traditional copy desks. The team copyeditors have a dual allegiance -they consider themselves part of the copy desk as well as part of the topic teams, and they maintain a close relationship with the desks and the slots.39