So, do you like go to all the games?

Commonly misused journalism words:
Ad, or advertisement. This is what nonjournalists call every bit of copy they see, rather than “article” or “piece,” as we honed, oily journalists throw around. Advertisements are what *ahem* actually pays our bills. Much as we artists hate to admit it.

Retraction: Newspapers don’t often retract information. That is admitting every word was a falsehood. We run corrections. Or if it’s a really minor fix, or the reporter wants to just be pissy (I understand if they do) we just use clarification. I.E.: “Well, I spelled his name wrong, but that’s what was on his desk plaque,” says the reporter. Editor: “OK, I have 10 hours of work to do on five hours of deadline, so whatevs, just put the GD thing in the corrections file.”

(and while we’re on the subject:)
Reporter: The person who physically writes a rough draft of a story. They might think it’s perfect, but ask any copy editor if it is and they’ll say no. Reporters bring in the bacon.
Editor/copy editor/designer: Editors fry it up in a pan. Common misconception: You work at a newspaper, therefore you might think and editor actually leaves the office, cute little notebooks and pens in hand, and WRITE. No buddy, editors make the magic happen, pitch your stories to upper-level editors, pick out photos, design the pages, make deadline despite the frequent pleas of sportswriters covering games that went into (extra f****ng innings, periods, quarters or the like) and put the damned thing to bed. The reporters’ names go on the top, but our blood courses through the press. ***note. A sleep-deprived sports copy editor might have written these words. I’m just sayin’. Another key difference: Copy editors have set (but awful) hours. Reporters are on a more on-call schedule, but always manage to leave by 5:30 at the latest. (I’m kidding, guys. Take a joke!)

More to come!