Entering the College of Journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the mid-1980s, I assumed I would become a newspaper reporter. Writing had always come naturally to me. I hadn’t given copy editing a thought.

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In fact, I didn’t know what copy editing was. It was during my internship at The Omaha World-Herald that I discovered a flair for copy editing as well as writing headlines and photo captions. I embarked upon an adventurous (for a copy editor anyway) and fulfilling career as a newspaper journalist. One of my early legacies was writing a front-page headline that made Late Night with David Letterman: “Dukakis, Jackson Butt Heads.” Despite that inauspicious start, I climbed the ranks to become copy desk chief and earned a master’s degree along the way.

 

Eventually, after two decades of newsroom stress, late nights and cutting short Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners to head to work, this inky journalist shifted lanes to become the senior copy editor for a spunky marketing agency in Phoenix. I forged ahead into the world of monetizing, audience experience, client objectives, KPIs and actionable CTAs. I discovered, to my relief, that within marketing content there was a demand for editorial integrity: accuracy; proper attribution of facts; reliance on credible sources; and consistent, although more informal, grammar. It was fun and rewarding for 11 years.

 

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