Saturday, March 6, 2010

Eliminate Unnecessary Words

Dear Washington City Paper,

In the future, might I suggest when placing a listing in your classified section in search of an editor for your own paper, that you have a qualified person actually edit said listing. The classifieds are no place to be overly verbose about things that may or may not have anything to do with actual job position, ie. history of newspaper, number of staff members, full 2,000 word job description, etc. While these facts may have significance once someone has expressed interest, taking up two entire columns beforehand is nothing short of ridiculous, and at some point a "Call or visit website for more details" segment is encouraged. I fell asleep halfway through the second paragraph and woke up half an hour later with backwards typeface on my forehead that still hadn't reached the next job posting. Please explore meaning of "brevity" and "necessary information," two concepts which have sadly escaped your publication, and consider engraving "eliminate unnecessary words" on a plaque to be placed above new editor's desk.

Sincerely,
Boycotting Excessive Print

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