In praise of radical copyediting

Saw this flowchart on Twitter today, and then immediately got super into Radical Copyeditor’s archives and overall concept: We all depend on copyeditors to keep our copy looking fresh & clean & sensical, but as our culture changes and develops a better vocab to address identity, race and political movements, the most correct choice of words matters more than ever.


Enter this blog/movement by an editor/consultant named Alex Kapitan, who’s taking up this enormous task and working to advocate for “radical copyediting” — AKA, the kind of editing that makes sure your media outlet doesn’t embarrass itself by using comma splices and/or casually problematic language that’ll make your grandkids cringe one day.

All for what? Kapitan says it best:

“I believe that language matters, and that those of us who are working to manifest a better, more just world have a responsibility to use language in ways that describe the world we are working to create, rather than unconsciously perpetuating bias and prejudice.”

Very cool, and very necessary.

Like Deez Links? Forward to your copyeditors!