The Diamondback

Copy editing at The Diamondback is a very thorough process. The work focuses more on grammar, language and structure than on the content itself. Editors take stories through a “two read” and a “three read.”

During the two read, copy editors go word by word and fact-check the information. Almost every piece of information that is fact-checked is marked with a [cq]. Reporters are responsible for putting their sources in the footnotes so editors can corroborate the information. For quotes, editors listen to the reporter’s Otter.AI recording and, once the quote has been verified, mark it with [cqquote]. For names and proper nouns, editors also need to spell-check them and mark them with [sp] afterward. For opinion stories and other opinion content, editors only grammar-check the piece and mark changes with [rf].

During the three read, the copy editor looks through the edits from the two read and focuses more on the structure, organization and phrasing of the story. This phase gives copy editors more freedom to comment and communicate with the reporter about their story and writing choices.

Editors work in shifts of four or more hours, two days a week. So far, I have really enjoyed having the responsibility of editing and communicating with reporters about important topics. This process has reiterated my love for journalism, specifically the ability to learn about so many different topics because of The Diamondback’s wide reporting range.