Press Gazette columnist and blogger Grey Cardigan , the voice of the downtable regional sub, has hit back at Roy Greenslade's assertion that "sub editors are a layer that can be eliminted" which has provoked more than 80 postings on the PG website.
Cardigan says: "The real danger of Professor Greenslade’s deranged, delusionary rantings, as identified by many of those who have left comments, is that he is simply passing the ammunition to know-nothing newspaper bosses who will take his misguided meanderings as legitimisation of their dividend-chasing agenda.
"Surely, they will ask, if a man as distinguished as the Prof thinks we can do without subs, why aren’t we embracing his Brave New World? And bang goes another desk of jobs in a small provincial office. And that’s very, very, sad."
Cardigan also admits that he wished his blog was subbed, stating: "This blog goes straight to screen; it is unchecked. And I hate it. I know that however hard I look, however many times I read and re-read, there is always a chance that a grammatical gremlin might creep in. But up with that I must put."
I wonder how many other bloggers agree with Cardigan and wish someone read their blog before they posted, or do they prefer the immediacy of seeing their blog published without the approval of a third party?
Monday update: Roy Greenslade has responded to his critics here.
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5 comments:
Personally, on a blog, I love that I'm accountable only to myself - which probably explains the low quality threshold!
And I think GC credits professors with rather too much influence!
The point I made the other day was that I would absolutely love to have a sub-editor on my blog - and when I leave comments! I'd stop making the same silly spelling errors again and again, I'd get snappier headlines, and I'd get better copy because my waffling and side-tracks would be expunged. But, I can't afford one. My blogging business model doesn't support it. I think Greenslade raises a perfectly reasonable question about whether the current levels of sub-editing staff may be unsustainable, and whether a lot of sub-editor skills, for example precise cutting of copy to fit the page layout, are just not going to be relevant as the industry goes increasingly digital.
Um, is that mistake in your headline deliberate?
:)
Thanks Clare, I've changed the headline (which unfortunately had 'Your' instead of 'You're' in it) and you have proved Grey Cardigan's point.
It's simple really, without subs you get sloppy flabby copy. They're vital.
They also help train the next wave of journalists with their invaluable advice.
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