I was re-reading Stephen Fry’s third memoir, More Fool Me, the other day and was reminded of the noble and fast-disappearing art of sub-editing in news organisations.
Before - I dunno - 2010, subeditors were the lifeblood of any newspaper or news site. Who else was going to change “MAN EATING TIGER SHOT” to “MAN-EATING TIGER SHOT”?
So when Amanda Brotchie and I made the TV comedy, Lowdown, back in 2009, we made sure we celebrated the sub. The show was set at a Sunday newspaper, where Alex, the journalist played by me, was always getting visits from Satish, the increasingly confused sub.
Despite subs being wonderful - and they are – they’re also superior bastards. I guess when you correct other people’s mistakes all day, it’s impossible not to feel pretty good about yourself. And that’s something this Fry passage illustrates perfectly.
Wonderful stuff! These days, the absence of subs is palpably obvious. (Did you see what I did there?)
Haha so right Adam. I remember one frustrated sub in a Melbourne newspaper holding up a photographer by his neck against a wall in a full on stoush. Shocking and hilarious in equal measure.