Page 57 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

The Editing Process

piece by piece. In the end, you’ll find that the middle is trim and strong,
giving your readers only what they need to know.

The Editing Process

Writing and editing are complementary processes. In an ideal world,
editing begins with the writer. Throughout the process, the writer
should have a hand in guiding the story until everyone involved is happy
with the finished product. In most cases, however, deadline pressure,
communication breakdowns, and daily newsroom life tend to get in the
way. Even with the problems that can impede the work of both writer
and editor, it is important to understand that writers and editors are
not sworn enemies. Some writers view editing as a process that requires
them to defend their work against unwarranted intrusion by an editor.
Meanwhile, some editors see stories as pieces of critically wounded
journalism that a writer dumped on the editing desk, assuming the
editor would be able to pump life back into it. While these are extreme
cases, writers and editors tend to view each other through a wary eye.
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Writer as Editor
The first and best editors are always the writers themselves. As a writer,
you are expected to be the expert on the topic you’re examining. While
editors are there to help you shape your vision, no one in the newsroom
should know as much about this story as you. For that reason, you need
to have a conversation with yourself after you’ve finished that first draft.
You need to stop looking at the story as a writer and start looking at
it as an editor. Do your best to poke holes in the story. Look for places
where you might have missed a fact or two. Shore up the weak spots
with additional research, another quote, or through an extra phone
call to a source. Print the story and read it on paper. You’ll see a ton
of minor problems you didn’t notice when you were looking at it on
the screen. Read the story out loud. When you verbalize what you’ve
written, you’ll notice if you’ve used the same word five times in one
sentence. You’ll also notice if the sentence is constructed properly or if
you missed a word or two. Reading your work aloud is another way to
spot check yourself for things that might have slipped past you during
the writing stage.
Use a dictionary. Journalists sometimes use bigger words to make
themselves sound more important or to make their writing sound more