30Sep

Why I keep advocating for letting fresh air in newsrooms where there’s still editing

Speech bubble made up from hundreds of words

For most of my 42-year career, all I heard about words and usage was the same drumbeat of the same rules, rules, “rules,” year after year.

29Sep

Press conference? News conference? Are we really sweating this?

Press pass ID card icon. Journalist visitor pass, vector illustration.

Somewhere along the way, someone in my line of work decided we can’t call it a press conference anymore. News conference, they insisted.

28Sep

‘Learn the rules so you can break them. Also, never break them’

Follow The Rules is an instruction or directive to adhere to a set of established guidelines, regulations, or principles, text concept button on keyboard.

Heavy-handed editing isn’t the future. It’s not even the present. When an editor realizes this, the editing life they save may be their own.

27Sep

It’s good to ask why these editing ‘rules’ and traditions you follow exist

Roasted ham food photography recipe idea.

A few days ago, we connected toilet paper to editing. Today, we switch to baking a ham in the oven. Click through to find out more.

26Sep

A few more thoughts about heavy-handed editing and the Pedant Wars

Editors Tea Club mugs in front of a Wonder Woman movie soundtrack album purse.

Why would you want your publication to stay stuck in the past while the world drifts away from you more every day?

25Sep

You are not inside your subject’s head, but if so, maybe only to the extent they want you to be

Against a light blue background, an illustration of a human brain, darker blue in this case, has chains and a lock on it, and the lock is unlocked.

Voice-of-God reporting is a problem in American journalism. The stakes aren’t as big in sports as in politics, but I have examples to share.

22Sep

This is the kind of editor I aspire to be, with an emphasis on ‘kind’

A woman unknowingly tracks a piece of toilet paper on the bottom of her boot, which makes for an embarrassing time.

What does being a kind-hearted editor have to do with toilet paper? I’m about to tell you: free, gratis. No charge.

20Sep

Oh, the places you’ll go with ACES in your editing life

Against a burgundy wine fabric background, items from ACES 2016 are spread out. An ACES 2016 tote bag, a black Olympus digital recorder, a pair of blue sunglasses, a copy of Bill Walsh's "Lapsing Into a Comma," an iPhone with the cover of the ACES 2016 program and schedule showing, a pen on top of a notebook on which notes have been jotted down from the session titled "Sexist Creeps: How to Catch and Fix Sexist Language," and one of several sheets from a session titled, "Sweat This, Not That."

Have you ever wondered, “Why is this an English language rule? Is it still a rule?” If so, ACES might be a good fit for you.

16Sep

A podium? A lectern? Both? A detail worth sweating at all?

Football season makes me think about lecterns and podiums far more often than I’d like. Let me say this, then.

15Sep

What coaches often fail to address in praising sports life lessons

People will discuss Oregon Ducks football coach Dan Lanning’s comments from Saturday for some time. Here’s what he didn’t say.

CarlyJDubois.com

Month: September 2025

Why I keep advocating for letting fresh air in newsrooms where there’s still editing

Press conference? News conference? Are we really sweating this?

‘Learn the rules so you can break them. Also, never break them’

It’s good to ask why these editing ‘rules’ and traditions you follow exist

A few more thoughts about heavy-handed editing and the Pedant Wars

You are not inside your subject’s head, but if so, maybe only to the extent they want you to be

This is the kind of editor I aspire to be, with an emphasis on ‘kind’

Oh, the places you’ll go with ACES in your editing life

A podium? A lectern? Both? A detail worth sweating at all?

What coaches often fail to address in praising sports life lessons