Copy editor catching libel?
Women's Wear Daily is reporting on the firing of a New York Post copy editor in its Memo Pad column.
It is possible to be too conservative for The New York Post after all. According to a source at the Post, one of its copy editors, born-again Christian Dawn Eden, apparently embellished a Jan. 18 editorial about stem-cell research during the editing process. Her version of the story — which slammed New York Senate Minority Leader David Paterson’s plan for a state-sponsored stem-cell institute as a "harebrained scheme" — made it into print.I have no idea why the magazine is gossiping about such a thing or why readers would care, but there it is.
Eden has a blog, the Dawn Patrol, and she denies the accusation there today.
This is a complete lie and it can easily be disproved. I have official Post documentation relating the circumstances of my departure, which I have thus far kept confidential. I do not know whether this story was spread by someone attempting to make me publicly reveal those circumstances. In any case, I will not do so at this time, because this utter falsehood may be disproved without opening my personal records.I'm trying to imagine quitting or being fired and then ending up reading about it in a magazine ... still trying ... still trying ... Nope, can't see it happening.
As a copy editor on the NEWS copy desk and not the EDITORIAL PAGE department, I had NO computer access to the editorials. I would only see them when they were on page proofs, where I would mark grammar and spelling corrections ONLY. These page proofs were then given to the editorial-page editors, who would make the changes themselves. I never once while I was at the Post accessed an editorial in a manner that I could possibly make any change without the editors' full and complete knowledge.
Admittedly, Eden may be more well known than many other copy editors. She's a former pop music critic (with interviews with the Animals' Alan Price and GBV's Bob Pollard under her belt). She's a regular DJ at a New York club. And Gawker did a "Five Questions" feature on her in August. (Gawker, by the way, is where I first read about this mess.)
But what is this doing in a magazine? Especially when it seems unconfirmed and so far-fetched? I'm befuddled.
2 Comments:
Nicole, thanks for seeing that there is more here than meets the eye. As I wrote in my blog entry, I am examining my options. I will have much more to say about this as soon as I am able—which should be very soon.
Different circles, Phil.
And Dawn, I think we're all wondering what the rest of the story is. As it stands, it seems bizarre.
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