By Boy Guingguing

Editing news stories is never fun!  

Now it can be told. 

For more than 30 years, we just took all in stride when we were confronted with broken English courtesy of press releases from our usual sources and our regular correspondents. 

Of course, there are at one glance, news stories that need no overhaul. But those who never learned from their mistakes as always would degenerate into incurable news writers; that if only you have the time, you have to revamp the whole story. When you come down to it, the end result is that its author will have a hard time identifying the news report, whether the original is still his or that of the editor. 

Such are the travails of an editor. 

Even during our days with the Bohol Chronicle (we were the assistant of the paper's grand old man for 14 years) was no different. 

A stickler for perfection, the Chronicle honcho was known for his penchant to giving a low tolerance for error. That's why to this day, this BGlante is ever grateful to the grand old man of Bohol journalism even if he was already in the Great Beyond because he instilled in me the right work ethic and the right discipline to survive in the highly competitive world of newspapering. But of course, correct English construction—grammar, tenses, syntax, etc. 

The old Chronicle boss came to mind when we pinch hit for the Post editorial job after enjoying the comfort and luxury of giving the top editorial post for many years to my assistants. 

Not that this BGlante is complaining. For all you know, after working under the tutelage of Jun Dejaresco, patience is one asset one should have plenty of. Like a prized trait, we nurtured patience all throughout our career let alone at this time that we are minding our newspaper business. 

True, I can stretch my patience like a rubber band for all I care. But there's a limit to everything including patience. 

That explain our date with reality in editing when we were inundated with the deluge of press releases whose English construction were out of this world. It happened Friday evening and the first reaction that leapt into my mind was that, news editing was never fun, after all.  

That led me to scream in wild abandon what the hell should I be doing to keep my blood pressure in stable condition? 

But make no mistake. If I have a critical review to the topsy turvy English found in the manuscripts, it is because I want news writers to learn the nuances of a good and acceptable news stories. Trouble is, people never learn. Even if constant correction came in handy week after week the moment their stories saw print, but still no dice, the next time they filed their stories.

Do I have any idea how to improve their craft?

Since most of our correspondents have no formal schooling in journalism, our recommendation is to give them a crash course in news writing. We know of several so-called media practitioners who cannot write straight English news. Vernacular news stories, yes, But English? Tell it to the marines! If they do circulate around as if they know the ABC of news writing, it is because nobody dared them to show their wares in full view of their veteran peers.