Editing Copy editing (section)

== Contemporary ==
{{update section|reason=most of the information in this section is more than ten years old. In addition, it could use some material on AI-assisted copy editing|date=October 2023}}
Before the digital era, copy editors would mark errors and inconsistencies with a red pen, using a markup language of symbols which were universally known. The traditional copy editor was once defined as editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics of style.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.editors.ca/hire/definitions.html |title=Definitions of editorial skills |date=12 December 2009 |access-date=5 April 2016|publisher=Editors' Association of Canada }}</ref>

Copy-editing symbols cannot be used in digital editing because they are not supported by tools such as track changes. With more posting online and less printing on paper, hard-copy can no longer keep pace with digital publishing.<ref name="digital age"/> For a publisher to hire copy editors to print a hard copy, make edits, and then make changes is no longer the most efficient process. The position of copy editors is at risk because software can correct grammatical errors more quickly<ref name="American Journalism Review">{{Cite web |url=http://ajr.org/2014/04/15/copy-editors-in-digital-world/ |first1=Michael |last1=King | title=Will Automated Copy Editors Replace Human Ones? | access-date=5 April 2016|date= 14 April 2014 |publisher=American Journalism Review |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160408195923/http://ajr.org/2014/04/15/copy-editors-in-digital-world/ |archive-date= Apr 8, 2016 }}</ref> and cheaply.

Professionals feared that the introduction of digital editing software would end copyediting careers. Copy editors are still employed and needed for heavy edits, such as fact-checking and content organization, which are beyond the abilities of the software. With [[grammar checker|grammar software]] and journalists who can edit, copy editors are seen as a luxury in publishing.<ref name="American Journalism Review"/> The potential for a company to use editing software may also require the copy editor to only perform heavy editing and querying. Though the steps for copyediting are the same, the execution has been adapted for digital environments.

=== Contemporary copy editor ===
The field of copy editing is not obsolete. Teresa Schmedding, president of the American Copy Editors Society (ACES) and a deputy managing editor at the ''Daily Herald'' in Chicago, thinks that copy editors are "a natural fit" for digital journalism and social media because, though publishing has been made available to almost anyone, quality and credibility is brought to content only by copy editors.<ref name="Track changes">{{Cite web |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/track-changes-in-word-197ba630-0f5f-4a8e-9a77-3712475e806a |title=Track changes in Word |publisher=[[Microsoft]] Support |access-date=18 October 2023 }}  </ref>

Copy editors must now consider multimedia aspects of the story, such as video, images, audio, and [[search engine optimization]], which may be included in digital publications.<ref name="Track changes"/> Digital editing now requires copy editors to understand [[search engine optimization|SEO]], HTML, [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]], and [[RSS]] feeds,<ref name="Track changes"/> as well as creative tools like [[Adobe Illustrator]]. This shows that the age of copy editing has now surpassed traditional methods of editing. The basics of checking grammar and punctuation are still necessary, but in the age of technology, the field of copy-editing has grown to include digital editing of various forms of media.<ref name="Track changes" /> Contemporary copy editors now have to review and understand current technology to help authors gain credibility in today's digital age. 

=== Issues ===
One of the problems with copy-editing is that it may slow the publication of the text. With the digital publishing era came an increased demand for a fast turnover of information. Additional details such as color printing, page size, and layout are determined by the allotted budget.<ref name=":0" /> Web-based publications, such as BuzzFeed and ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', do not have enough room in their budgets to keep sufficient staff to edit their massive, daily rushes of content. Therefore copy chief Emmy Favila says lower-priority posts are published without copyedits at Buzzfeed.<ref name="ajr.org">{{Cite web |url=http://ajr.org/2014/05/13/copy-editors-digital-media/ |title= Copy Editors Carve Niche in Digital Media Landscape |access-date=5 April 2016|date= 13 May 2014|publisher=American Journalism Review }}</ref> ''Slate'' does not edit its blog posts before publication, but all of its news articles are copy edited before publication, say ''Slate'' copy chief Lowen Liu and deputy editor Julia Turner.<ref name="ajr.org" />

In response to such high demands for fast-produced content, some online publications have started publishing articles first and then editing later, a process known as back-editing. Editors prioritize stories to edit based on traffic and whether the content was originally reported for needing edits.

Reading material has become increasingly accessible to users with a wide range of disabilities. Carolyn Rude exemplifies such cases in alternatively replacing illustrations with text and audio translations for the visually impaired.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Technical editing|last1=Rude|first1=Carolyn D.|date=2006|publisher=Longman|last2=Dayton|first2=David|last3=Maylath|first3= Bruce|isbn=032133082X|edition= 4th|location=New York|oclc=60188071}}</ref> Rude also suggests that web developers attempt to stick to print guidelines, such as "clear and simple language and consistent terms and navigation devices", especially when readers are looking at text in a second language.<ref name=":0"/>