I was in sixth grade, and my school newspaper was doing a poll: Which team was going to win the World Series? The paper later reported that most of the students wanted the Yankees to win. That was the first time I caught a published mistake. The question, I pointed out in a letter to the editor, was not which team we wanted to win, but which team we thought would win.

I’ve made it my business since then to try to fix inaccuracies prior to publication. But not everything that needs fixing is inaccurate; more often, it’s writing that could be better organized, more precise, less wordy. 

I’ve been a copy editor for more than 20 years and ran the Metro Copy Desk at the Post for 12 years. In that role, I raised standards, improved morale and turned what had been a dead-end desk into a respected source of talent at the paper. But don’t take my word for it: Those are the reasons cited by the Post publisher in giving me the 2003 Eugene Meyer Award, the highest honor for a staff member. I’m the only copy editor to receive the award; other recipients include David S. Broder, Dan Balz and Bob Woodward.

I’m also honored to be in the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame and the Illini Media Alumni Hall of Fame at the University of Illinois, where I graduated in 1971.

Having started out as a reporter (at the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights, Ill.; the Milwaukee Sentinel; the late, great Chicago Daily News; and the Chicago Sun-Times), I bring a reporter’s perspective to copy editing: There’s nothing like starting with a blank notebook to know what kinds of questions to ask (and to notice, as an editor, which questions might not have been asked). And there’s nothing like starting with a blank screen (or, in those days, a blank sheet in a typewriter) to learn how to write in a way that is both informative and user-friendly.

That is the approach I take on whatever I am editing. At Kramer Editing Services, I’ve handled pieces as diverse as a scholarly look at nuclear nonproliferation, an Op-Ed submission on corporate crime, a study of global warming from a military perspective, a batch of quick dessert recipes and an investigation of how U.S. money is being spent to combat AIDS abroad. Whatever the topic, whatever the challenge – I apply my skills, attention to detail and passion for getting it right.

Remarks from the

Eugene Meyer Awards ceremony, Dec. 8, 2003

“Marcia Kramer revolutionized copy editing at The Washington Post.”

“She transformed [the Metro Copy Desk] into a first-rate, highly regarded organization. ... She is just a terrific journalist, with very high standards.”

– Benjamin C. Bradlee

Former Executive Editor

The Washington Post

– Boisfeuillet (Bo) Jones Jr.

Publisher

The Washington Post

“… one of the great unsung heroes of The Washington Post … a revitalizing force.”

– Donald E. Graham

Chairman

The Washington Post Co.

© 2007 Kramer Editing Services. All rights reserved.