Tuesday, September 23, 2003

And That Was Sacramento or Sacremento?

Sorry, I couldn't help noticing this typo in Mark Glaser's excellent piece on whether bloggers need to be edited in the UCS Annaberg Online Journalism Review:

"Many newspaper sites, however, are queasy at the thought of posting unedited copy online by anyone. Editing a blog makes it stronger, in their opinion. Paul, of the Sacremento Bee, says everybody could use an editor. "That's the difference between a professional writer and an amateur," he said. "The professional knows he needs an editor, and the amateur thinks he doesn't need editing."

Just teasing Mark. BTW, I think it's an excellent piece and I'm throwing into my folder for backup materials when we all get to BloggerCon to discuss these things.

My opinion right now? If you are a media organization, ask a blogger if they would like to be COPYedited. I think most bloggers would say yes -- I know I would. If you have more than one copy editor, let them pick who they want to work with. Ask if they want to have their editorial content reviewed by an editor. If they don't, rely on them to seek out an editor for more contentious issues relating to politics or decency as the need arises. Write a blogger's pre-nup about their employment with your organization. Nice to spell things out up front. If they don't like your terms from day one, don't start the relationship.