With the methods of print and communication going through dramatic changes, are we witnessing the death of the print editor as we once knew it? It’s something easy to comment upon, but like so many things in life, nobody knows exactly where this is going. Books, newspapers, magazines all still exist, although all are boosting their online presence. Making a move to the Internet is something that all publications must do. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
As content moves to the online medium, will we see more and more errors crop up, only to be fixed later or swept under the rug? Typos happen — nobody can claim to be perfect or to find every single tiny mistake. However, it is something to still strive for and much more difficult in this day and age. This post, edited by me and me alone, may have an error or two. And while it is something I would rather not produce, go to a major newspaper’s website or an important magazine and prove that it’s all error free.
The point I have with that, is that expectations for writing will be dramatically lowered. After the completion of a news story or event, speed is quickly replacing accuracy — although a correct article is obviously still essential. This is something that we can’t let happen. There’s no sense in expecting a perfect piece when the demand is there to have it 50 minutes later. Newspaper writers must now compose stories before an event is finished. And while that is pretty standard, let’s not cut any corners. I’d rather see a clean copy and wait an extra hour than have an audience that will accept lower quality work in a more timely fashion.
By the way — I wrote this in about seven minutes. How many errors can you find?
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