Bruce and I were each at our respective computers putting Food for Thought to bed when Bruce called to me from another room. (Open flooring seemed a good idea at one time.)
He shouted that someone just e-mailed us an incredible piece of news.
“The Record Searchlight laid off its whole copy desk!”
“No way!” I yelled back. “That can’t be! Says who?”
“She said it’s on Marc Beauchamp’s blog!”
“Then she must be mistaken. Maybe she read it in an April Fool’s blog.”
I didn’t believe it, even from the RS, for all its management’s really stupid recent moves.
For one thing, I think one of my copy desk friends would have told me. Second, I just couldn’t imagine a newspaper without a local copy desk. Insane. Even more than usual.
With that in mind I returned to my work, until Bruce told me to come quickly and look at Marc Beauchamp’s blog. Here’s what Marc’s April 9 blog said: (Sorry, I don’t link to the RS.)
“Expect more tpyos at this paper
In a cost-cutting move, the copy desk was laid off. No kidding. Not even outsourced to India. Laid. Off.”
See, here’s the problem. Marc’s cryptic blog linked to a story about a Southern California newspaper that did lay off its entire copy desk. Apparently, that’s the paper to which Marc referred.
But that’s not the way Marc’s blog reads, especially if people, like our friend who told us the news, never click that blue link.
Therefore, it’s understandable when some people conclude that Marc’s headline, “Expect more tpyos at this paper,” means THIS paper, as in the RS, the one for whom Marc blogs.
Oops-o-rama. Big time. Looks like at least one RS blogger could use some copy desk intervention himself.
No kidding.
