The Power of Words. Part 3: How reporters hinder editors

12/24/97
Part 3: How reporters hinder editors

Part 1: What can a writer do to help an editor?
Part 2: What can an editor do to help a writer?
Part 4: How editors hinder reporters

       Reporters and editors can help each other. They can also hinder each other. When a group of reporters and editors sat down to discuss their working relationship, they came up with a series of ideas. Two lists on how each side can help the other have already been published. This is the third in the series.

       What does a writer do that hinders an editor?
      1. Does not communicate with the editor at the start.
      2. Fails to communicate about the importance of the story.
      3. Fails to tell the editor when the story is changing. Communications between the writer and editor should be ongoing.
      4. Ignores the positive role an editor can play.
      5. Sees the editor as an adversary.
      6. Loses sight of the goal -- that both the editor and the reporter are trying to produce the best story. The relationship should not become a personality duel.
      7. Fails to challenge the editor's ideas.
      8. Tries to tilt the relationship. Collaboration will not work when a writer becomes rude, overbearing, and tries to bully the editor.
      9. Gets defensive.
      10. Writes too long. Writers fail to produce stories that conform with established limits.
      11. Fails to disclose to the editor a "hole'' in the story.
      12. Makes changes in the story after the editing is complete.
      13. The writer gets too wedded to bad prose. The story is too illustrative or too descriptive, but the writer refuses to see or concede that is a problem.
      14. Becomes too married to a particular idea or theme in the story.
      15. The research is lacking, and the writer expects the editor to correct or solve that problem.
      16. Does not tell an editor how they feel about the editing, once changes are made in the story.
      17. Does not correct or solve poor passages in the story.
      18. Slips in wording that is against newspaper policy. Among the problems: profanity, libel.
      19. Rejects ideas or changes without considering them first.
      20. Procrastinates.
      21. Expects the editor to do all the proofreading and to clean up sloppy grammar and spelling.
      22. Rides deadlines; gives the editor too little time to do the editing.
      23. Writes without a focal point.
      24. Does not read the newspaper.

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