Headline Writing Bonus

1. Juvenile campers claim responsibility for forest fire

Two juvenile campers confessed to being responsible for a forest fire.  It lasted three days and was the worst fire in more than a decade in Ticonderoga County.

2. Penalty for owners of biting pets rejected

A proposed penalty of a misdemeanor sentence for owners whose pets bite was rejected.  It was suggested the leash laws were strong enough and incarcerating owners would not stop pets from biting people.

Reign of Error

I was surprised so many errors were found in such major newspapers.  It's the copy editor's responsibility to catch errors but at the same time, the reporter should be just as professional with editing.  That is what separates real journalists from everyday bloggers and citizens with no journalistic experience.

New York Times Correction Policy

Though the New York Times' privacy policy and terms of service are available online, I was not able to find the corrections policy.  However, I did find plenty of contact information for submitting corrections or asking questions.  The corrections section is found on page A2 of the actual paper.

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/pageoneplus/corrections.html

Macro vs Micro

Both macro and micro editing hold importance in the process of making an accurate, newsworthy story.  With micro editing, you focus on the small details such as grammar and spelling.  With macro editing, you look at the big picture by checking facts and determining if the story is ethical.

I naturally focus on grammar and spelling first and typically have to remind myself to check the facts.  I prefer micro editing.  Which do you prefer?