My first week as managing editor has come and gone. The move to a new paper made for a challenging first week, having to throw a paper together in all-new surroundings and adjusting to a (snowy) 40-minute commute.
Nonetheless I was able to get some stories submitted from freelancers and a staffer and write two myself. One story came from my boss and it was about my taking the editorial reigns of the newspaper.
The biggest challenge for me was adjusting to a production deadline hours earlier than what I'd dealt with in the past. We made it on time, if not a little ahead of normal.
But unfortunately, I transposed two letters on the sub-headline to the story about myself. Numerous eyes checked the page, but nobody caught the error in time. I brought home a printout and realized the miscue while standing next to my bed. By that time it was too late to fix.
The next morning, I picked up the finished product, grimmacing at that error and groaning when I found that pages A4 and C4 had been switched. A phone call to the production manager relieved my fears that I'd made the mistake. He took full responsibility for the unusual problem, noting that it was bad that it happened on my first week at the newspaper.
When such errors occur, it makes a newspaper issue very tough to look at. I'll pick up the best issues multiple times to admire, flip through, and read. But at the moment, this first paper isn't one that I want to frame for the ages.
Posted by JRC at December 18, 2005 08:04 PM | TrackBack