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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Newspaper photogs: Do editors edit your captions?
Scott MacDonald, Photographer
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Salinas | CA | USA | Posted: 9:04 PM on 04.01.08 |
->> At my paper, there's been discussion of getting a word editor in the workflow to improve our captions.
The current workflow: We choose and caption photos in Photo Mechanic, tone in Photoshop and drop the files into a server, which then transfers them into our archive system, which is intranet-based and accessible via web browser. Editors use this system to access photos for use in print and on the web.
Captions are edited by copy editors for print, but any grammar errors we make when writing captions in Photo Mechanic become part of our permanent archive (if there's a factual error or misspelling, we can fix the caption in the archive).
Additionally, when we photogs assemble photo galleries or Soundslides for the web, we use our own captions. Normally, we're the only ones who see the captions before the galleries or Soundslide go live on the web for the world to see.
Ideally, we'd have an editor read our captions after we write them but before they're transferred into the archive or published online. This, of course, presents all kinds of problems with deadlines and schedules.
I'm wondering if any other papers have a similar system and have found an elegant way to get a word editor in the workflow. Any feedback is appreciated.
-scott |
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Jeremy Harmon, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Salt Lake City | UT | USA | Posted: 9:16 PM on 04.01.08 |
| ->> The captions on all our online photo galleries go through a copy editor before they are posted. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 9:26 PM on 04.01.08 |
| ->> copy editors have the ultimate say over our captions. 99% of the time it works...once in a while they change things without asking. this is very very rare. if they have a question they are supposed to call us. that said, WE, as photoJOURNALIST's are responsible for having a reasonable grasp of the english language. you can get in as much trouble with the bosses for crappy captions as you can for crappy photos. trust me I've been on the receiving end. I'm not the greatest typist on the planet.....and I use copy and paste too much. that said our soundslides are not published without an editor looking at them. our first early soundslides went on line and there were often embarrassing mistakes...spelling and grammar-wise. not anymore. and our photo gallery captions are all "fixed" by the editor in charge that night. hope that helps. we are extremely fortunate at our paper for the system we have in place. |
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Scott MacDonald, Photographer
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Salinas | CA | USA | Posted: 9:37 PM on 04.01.08 |
->> Thanks for the responses.
Jeremy, does the copy editor look at your captions and give them back to you to post the galleries, or how does that work? Is there ever an issue with that process taking too long?
Chuck, do you photogs post your galleries and then a copy editor looks over the captions once it's up? |
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Andrew Miller, Photographer
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Bridgewater | NJ | USA | Posted: 9:56 PM on 04.01.08 |
->> All captions that run in print and online with stories are looked at by several editors at my paper. We've been marked as an information center by Gannett, so we've joined forces with our sister paper and next door neighbor The Home News Tribune and are currently operating under a "universal" copy desk. The combined copy desk does a fine job with captions, and usually rewords them however they see fit.
There has been a couple of booboos that have occurred, but that's the nature of the business. Typically it's been on the web. Photo galleries have been somewhat of an issue as we are expected to produce a large volume of photos from every sporting event and make galleries for reprints. We usually slip by by using a generalized caption aside from the photos submitted for publication in the next day's paper. This cuts down on errors with ID's, spelling, and grammar. In an ideal world I would caption all 40 images, but my brain starts to fry at a certain point, so the generalized caption works out just fine for me.
As Chuck mentioned, it is our responsibility to write with competence. I've trained myself to use the dashboard dictionary if I'm unsure of the spelling of a word. I've also been known to run a sentence or a word by a reporter within earshot if I'm unsure of the grammar or spelling. Might as well get it right the first time, 'ya know? |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 10:09 PM on 04.01.08 |
| ->> nope.....we ship the photos....the editors do the rest. at first someone suggested the photogs post...but that idea was shot down. think about it...they don't let writers put raw stories out there. why should we be allowed to do that? we shouldn't....everyone should have an editor...if you don't believe me refer to the post on getting a second job.....I probably could have used an editor on MY post! |
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Jeremy Harmon, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Salt Lake City | UT | USA | Posted: 3:31 AM on 04.02.08 |
->> The copy desk edits the captions. When that is complete we put the folder of photos in a specific place on our ftp server and send an email to our webmaster to let them know the gallery is ready. The online folks post them from there as quickly as they can.
It can be somewhat time consuming, but it's important to make sure things are run by an editor before they are published. |
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Ed Coombs, Photographer
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Central Square | NY | | Posted: 6:19 AM on 04.02.08 |
| ->> My editor edits them all. He just wants to know who is in picture and part of the story, he'll take it from there |
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Sean D. Elliot, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Norwich | CT | USA | Posted: 1:47 PM on 04.02.08 |
->> I like the idea of putting copy editors in the loop, except I know our copy desk is busy enough with the images that go in the paper, adding online gallery images, plus anything that goes in the archive would require a full-time position and that's just not happening.
The other problem would be that our copy desk has a tendency to "fix" things they think the photographer got wrong without any confirmation, which would compound the errors going into the archive. |
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