Matt Day

I was fortunate at the Daily News to join a veteran copy desk that operated in a communal style. There generally was no formal assignment of duties, each editor went through the list of tasks until the paper was produced. This allowed me to gain experience in many areas; first reads, headline and cutline writing, conversations with reporters about clarifications or alterations and wire story roundups.

One moment that highlights my experience was the deadline pressure during the night of the NBA Draft. The Daily News had reporters in contact with every player with local ties who was expected to be drafted, and many of them were selected near our first deadline. Several articles came in at the last minute, and we had to react quickly to get them formatted, edited, headlined and on the page. As the deadline approached and everyone on the desk was occupied, it became clear that mine would be the only eyes on a couple of pages before they went to press. The pressure and frenzy in the newsroom that night, and every time deadline approached, was thrilling. The need to get things right the first time sharpened my skills.

Another highlight of my work was the Daily News preview of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's 100th bout. Our boxing reporter packaged a story and a couple extensive graphics (that didn't make it onto the Web), and as no one on the desk knew much or wanted to learn about UFC, our editor drafted me to be the lead editor on the piece. I offered feedback in advance of its publication, extensively fact-checked it and cleared edits with the graphics department.

As the copy editing mandate didn't allow for much in the way of reporting, the clearest evidence of my writing and editorial judgment come from three unbylined briefs I wrote (here, here and here), and my contribution of reporting to the coverage of the Gold Cup quarterfinal soccer game played in Philadelphia. Examples of my headline writing are forthcoming.