November 2021 – Subbing Clinic

#561

The Times, November 20, 2021

This should be one of the first words a sub learns to spell (it is Gurkha). I find it incredible that standards are so low at the Times that this has got into the paper. In my day this would quite rightly have been a sacking offence. If a sub can’t spell there is not a lot of point in doing the job.

I cannot stress strongly enough that it takes years of experience to make a good sub-editor. When I was a junior sub, almost everyone else in the department was older and wiser, and the benefit of their experience was passed down to me. A chief sub would often point out how things could be improved. These days most older subs have been dispensed with and there is no one to teach or mentor the younger ones. Staffs have been so reduced that no one has time to guide anyone else.

This clinic is an attempt to pass on my experience using real examples. I would love to receive items from others as I do not read every paper every day. I will add new entries as I come across them.