Can you salvage an error-laden clip for your portfolio?
Poynter’s ‘Ask the Recruiter’ guy, Joe Grimm, posted an interesting question today:
Cut a Bad Subhead from My Clip?
Q. This summer I had an internship at a mid-sized daily newspaper and had the opportunity to write some articles. I don’t have a lot of articles to choose from, but there are a few I feel would make good clips.
One of my favorite stories has a misspelling in the subhead. It wasn’t my fault, and I think most editors will realize that; however, I think it will reflect negatively on the newspaper and decrease my chances of getting a job. I scanned the article and could simply edit it out in Photoshop and keep the main headline, but I’m guessing this probably isn’t a good idea. Another option might be to attach a short explanation along with the clip.
What do you think I should do?
Thanks,
Mike—
A. Good guess.
Never alter something you are representing as original. It is not honest.
It is correct that a bad subhead will make it look like you worked for a weak publication. Including the subhead without a note might imply you don’t know it’s wrong.
I am looking for some comments on this, especially from editors: What would you think if we cut off the subhead and attached a note saying, “I have omitted a bad subhead that ran with this article.” Does that mitigate things? Is it just as bad as including the subhead? Is it ethical?
I’d agree with Joe. Don’t alter a clip. It’s much better to include a note explain the mistake. It might be an even better idea to eliminate that clip entirely from your portfolio.
On the other hand, is the mistake in the package you designed? Or is it on another part of the page? It’s often the case with artists that they’ll design a centerpiece package and then a designer or paginator will come along afterward and apply things like stories or folio lines. In that case, I think it’s OK to put just a PDF of the centerpiece in your portfolio and bypass using the entire page.
But an error in your clip — or in your resume or on your cover letter, as well — is something you’d want to avoid at all costs.
What do you think?
November 1st, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Charles is right. Don’t alter it and present it as the original, especially since this is a writing clip. If they find out, it’ll raise questions about what else you corrected in the story. Since it’s a writing clip, I think you can probably cut out the subhed and attach a note, as long as the main hed still makes sense. Also, was the subhed corrected on the Web? If so, maybe you can provide a Web printout instead of the clipped out copy?
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:32 am
Never, ever alter a clip.
Clips (and tearsheets) are what they are.
If there is ever a question, and someone decides to refer to the source copy, the altered copy will expose you to the wrong side of Hell.
Create more and better work with good people. Toss the old stories aside because you have fresher and better stuff.
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:55 am
This issue takes on greater significance with news on the Web. We can’t fix errors in print, but many companies have a policy of correcting errors online. I know some companies that even fix errors in newspaper pages available online.
So if the subhead is fixed on the Web site, is it unethical to use the corrected version? And if so, does this menality give reporters the impetus to go online to change errors or misgivings for clips? I don’t like my nut graph. Let’s fix it.
In one aspect, making changes online creates a product that is constantly improving, but in another gives a skewed view of how a reporter operates under deadline.
November 5th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
I loathe when this happens. I agree that even though you can alter the original page or the pdf, it is best to just leave it alone. Whenever I’m working on a page, even though I don’t write all the heds or the subheds, I feel like it is my baby. If mistakes are made to sully what I thought was an otherwise solid page, I’d make sure to talk to whoever made the mistake and just let them know that you thought it was a great page for you portfolio and you would have liked to have used it if it weren’t for the error. Definitely don’t come down hard on anyone, after all everday is a chance to do another great page. Just do whatever you can to foster a news desk environment where sharp editing and design benefits everyone.