The Editor’s Role as Thinker, Strategist, and

Leader

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical EditingWeek 7 • Fall 2015

Length of this lecture audio (8 slides): 00:18:15USF Sarasota-Manatee

© 2015 by T. E. Roberts, InstructorJot down the Week 6, 7, and 8 audio codes and their slide numbers. You will be sending these

when you submit Assignment 3 by 6 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2015.

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 7 • Slide 2 of 8

Week 7 Agenda

• Review of Assignment 2 Results• Assignment 3 Background• Editor’s Role in Corporate Communications

• Strategy• Implementation• Results

• Stress, Distress, and Egress

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 7 • Slide 3 of 8

Review of Assignment 2: Editing Wikipedia

• Comments on student work• Sticking to the topic: despite variation in subject matter, most submissions showed

effective understanding and implementation of the primary mission -- editing Wikipedia articles

• Common problem: edited portion exceeded the 500 words stipulated in the directions

• Lessons learned?• Wikipedia articles vary widely in writing quality, objectivity, and authority

• Editors must be just as creative as “writers”

• Defining “the user” of a mass medium is a major challenge

• What is the value of Wikipedia as a source of information? As a source of opinion? As an authority to settle arguments?

• Is the prejudice against Wikipedia (by teachers in particular) justified?

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 7 • Slide 4 of 8

Assignment 3 Background• Choose a company facing economic challenges similar to

those mentioned in the assignment directions• Layoffs of 20% of workforce• Restructuring

• For background information, start with these Wikipedia articles:• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layoff• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_restructuring• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_communication• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyboard

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 7 • Slide 5 of 8

Editor’s Role inCorporate Communications

• At senior level, an editor is involved in developing strategy for important company-wide communications

• VP of communications may have started as an editor and then rose steadily to higher positions

• A talent in verbal expression must be combined with street smarts and acceptance by peers

• Editor must understand not only communication principles but also the subtleties of human motivation and behavior

• It also helps to have a high tolerance for risk in relation to reward!

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 7 • Slide 6 of 8

Role 1: Strategy • Start with plausible “what if?” scenarios

• Predictable reactions of ...• Shareholders• Customers/clients• Middle management• Rank and file employees• Regulatory authorities

• Apply decision theory (“game theory”)• Used to predict economic consequences of certain actions/inactions• This requires knowledge of specific logic rules and analytical processes• See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory

• Perform a cost/benefit analysis of alternatives• “Cost” must be measured not only in dollars but also image and market status• Likewise, “benefit” might be defined as satisfying new consumer preferences or

exploiting new technology (one tool or system superseding another)• Results of this analysis will suggest how and when a message should be

communicated

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 7 • Slide 7 of 8

Role 2: Implementation • After defining the strategy, the team must decide how to put it

into action• Creating the message(s)• Choosing the right media• Structuring a feasible workplan • Assigning tasks and deadlines to individual support functions

• Managing this process is a big job in itself• Monitoring progress and results• Keeping everything on schedule• Maintaining high quality standards• Mollifying the egomaniacs and drive-by executives• Observing carefully who performs or fails to perform

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 7 • Slide 8 of 8

Role 3: Results • Measured using several benchmarks• Stock market response (rise, fall, stay the same?)• Customer response (sales up, down, same?)• Internal response (employees happy, angry, indifferent?)• Media response (positive, negative, neutral?)

• The post-implementation analysis is not easy• Many uncontrollable variables• Beware of delayed effects (impact of decision may take years to

determine)• Post hoc, ergo propter hoc = common fallacy

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 7 • Slide 9 of 8

Stress, Distress, and Egress• “Editing” comprises more than just shaping and polishing content in

various media -- it also means understanding and guiding the whole process: Sender <=> Message <=> Receiver

• “Brilliance of execution” is often a matter of lucky timing• The greater your success, the more modest you should be• Most important strategy may be the “exit” strategy! • Some useful links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_strategy• http://www.writing-world.com/tech/corpedit.shtml• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki_software• http://www.intelligentediting.com/writingastyleguide.aspx