Strategic Copy Editing

“Strategic Copy Editing offers a bridge between the world of stylebooks and reporting texts and the wider, unscripted world of professional copy editing. The emphasis on decision making, coaching, and critical thinking is particularly valuable to editors-in training moving from classroom exercises to real stories written on real deadlines by real colleagues. Discussions of headlines and story form show a solid, nuanced awareness of how the rules got there, when and why they might need to be refined or reshaped, and how editors can do so in a day-to-day, practical context. - Fred Vultee, University of Missouri School of Journalism; Russial has poured his impressive professional background into a richly comprehensive guide to editing. Beginning editing students will come away with a full understanding of what it means to be a copy editor. Advanced students will discover not only familiar topics mined with greater depth, but also topics seldom covered in typical textbooks; for example, how to work with the reporter as well as the story. The tips and strategies given at the end of most chapters offer advice that even professional copy editors would find useful. - Deborah Gump, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University; Russial’s strategic approach to copy editing is what sets this book apart from others in the field. He looks at editing from the inside out, and from the outside in, and how the ‘people factor’ affects it all. The book is philosophical, yet practical. It’s a tool that anyone teaching editing will find rich and rewarding. - Malcolm Gibson, The University of Kansas”

John Russial has taught editing, writing, and new media courses at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication for 11 years. He spent 17 years working for daily newspapers, the last 12 at The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he was Sunday copy chief. He is active in the American Copy Editors Society and occasionally leads professional workshops for copy editors and reporters. Russial has a bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University, a master’s from Syracuse University and a doctorate from Temple University. He studies how technology and organizational change affect copy editing and newspaper quality.