I see the Kalmbach members o f our forum all have the word :editor" in their title. What exactly does a magazine editor do? On the surface, it seems like they would edit other people's writing, and ?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
The editors may try to fill Rosemary Entringer's shoes in this respect--but they do not do as well as she did.
By the way, does any one of you remember her brief composition wherein she told of going home on the Rock's Blue Island line when she was in college.?
Johnny
Interesting question, particularly when compared to other industries/corporations.
My guess is that Jim Wrinn is the CEO of Trains Magazine...and that is only a guess. He is responsible for the management that goes into production of the monthly, including pulling together the articles, columns, features, etc.
He probably is also responsible for the overall administration of the magazine, including the staffing. Perhaps he even makes sales calls to big hitters such as those on the inside cover or rear cover.
Oh yeah...he gets to ride trains too.
Just a guess....Jim fill us in.
Ed
Murphy Siding I see the Kalmbach members o f our forum all have the word :editor" in their title. What exactly does a magazine editor do? On the surface, it seems like they would edit other people's writing, and ?
Hi, Murphy Siding:
What do editors do? I hope we provide a crucial part to the enjoyment of this magazine and website. Imagine if a movie had no director or a restaurant had no chef or a train had no conductor. What would those experiences be like? So here's what we do.
We read stories, evaluate stories, rewrite stories, rearrange stories, schedule stories, tell stories, write stories, illustrate stories, verify stories, correct stories, love stories, hate stories, find stories, fill in stories, trim up stories, question stories, dig up stories, pull out stories, map out stories, organize stories, and do it all over again.
And we're always the kid that hands in his paper without his name on it.
Thanks for asking. Hope this helps!
Ang
Angela Pusztai-Pasternak, Production Editor, Trains Magazine
IOW Ang, you lead a storied life.
Norm
Not the least of what editors do is conform all copy to a style book, which is often a mix of an external source (the University of Chicago's style book is commonly used) with some internally created tweaking. For example if there is more that one way to spell a word the style book sets forth that magazine's rule. How words are hyphenated is another example. Are foreign words italicized or are they put in quotes? Where do you place the apostrophe for a plural possessive or the possessive of a word or name that ends in s? Is it "Charles' hat" or "Charles's hat" and that sort of thing.
Some of us recall when a certain very famous editor of Trains was convinced by one of his finest and most respected steam authorities that the standard classification for articulated steam locomotives -- that is, that a Big Boy is a 4-8-8-4, a Challenger is a 4-6-6-4, and so on --- lacked a sound engineering basis if one said that a GG1 electric was a 4-6 + 6-4, which was in fact how Trains and other writers described such electrics. So suddenly N&W Y6bs were referred to with the +: 2-8+8-2. That was an example of a purely internal style book decision (and it caused howls of abuse and derision and was quietly retired after a few years).
Other stylebook things. What special type face do you use for the name of the magazine itself -- if Trains magazine mentions its own name, that is in a different type face than if it names, say Railway Age. What size are footnotes? If a series or string of things are mentioned, are there commas after each, or just the first two? That is, is it "A, B, and C" or is it "A, B and C." Both are correct but a style book makes a choice and sticks with it.
If a British writer submits an article do you permit them to retain their Britishisms --- colour, flavor, favour -- or do you Americanize them?
I think of this as what a Managing Editor does (although different publishers mean different things with that title) and a good one eventually commits all of these rules to memory. A certain amount of proof reading is also involved (can't always trust spell check). Managing Editors are usually in charge of style and appearance, rather than deciding if a given submitted article should see print or not. I suppose they also might decide what pages get ads on the border and which ones do not. But the editor in chief might get involved with that too since sometimes delicate author egos can get in the way. Whose photo gets the center spread and that sort of thing.
At some publications, probably not Trains or MR, there is also a rigorous fact checking function that is done by an editor, although I am sure that there is fact checking of a sort at Trains -- making sure you use Railway versus Railroad correctly for the names of the companies. It would not surprise me to learn that an editor for Trains has to trace every citation to source, so that if some author blandly claims that the March 1987 issue of Trains had a photo story on some topic, or that the 1966 Car & Locomotive Cyclopedia shows an 89' auto parts boxcar with a roof running board on a certain page, that it actually did so.
There are entire books, such as Fowler's English Usage and the famous Strunk & White book on writing style, that have to be consulted to nail things down correctly and consistently. With more and more editing being done on computer and in a context where it can almost go directly to print there is not as much opportunity for one editor to rule over all these stylistic points and choices, but the Kalmbach magazines do a good job, better than most.
Dave Nelson
I see they got rid of the Senior Editor, which means that we old folks no longer have someone to check our feeble- and forgetful-minded work.Yes, I remember Ms. Entringer and her piece of the Rock.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Depends on the publication. I was once a "sports editor" for a small publication. The bigger the publication the more responsibilities the editor has, including managing a staff of reporters and all aspects of what goes into the final product. It's a pressure job with tight deadlines.
CShaveRR I see they got rid of the Senior Editor, which means that we old folks no longer have someone to check our feeble- and forgetful-minded work.Yes, I remember Ms. Entringer and her piece of the Rock.
I hope the current editors are able to give some time to subscribers who drop in unannounced--as I was given forty-six years ago when I stopped over in Milwaukee between the Pioneer Limited and the Morning Zephyr just so I could visit the office.
As far as style issues are concerned, DPM brought it up one other time to the readership in the matter of diesel model designations. Morgan mentioned that the magazine had tried to follow the style used by the manufacturers but EMD's lack of consistency with punctuation forced the issue. He eliminated the use of the hyphen in model designations except where necessary (primarily Baldwin and FM models at the time). His action seems to have established a standard that has become prevalent within our hobby.
Johnny, I first read that article in a Trains "Annual", which was an anthology of some of the better writing. But she was still very much around when I first started subscribing to the magazine. As for the tours, they probably would have been much more fascinating to me in your day, when they probably had their own typesetting and presses. I've been on two tours of their present digs (courtesy of Kat Kube and Mike Yuhas), and have met most of the then-current staffers (I think Angela has had two promotions since I first met her).I also met David P. Morgan, at a couple of the talks he gave. I can go further back: Wallace W. Abbey was at one of those talks; I met him, too. I did not meet Mr. Ingles, but he was in the same room with those other guys and me. I also met Mark Hemphill; he was at the two-day dedication ceremony for the Rochelle Railroad Park right after having been announced as the new editor. From what I gather, Rosemary was a chain-smoker at some point; I don't think she lived past 50 or so, and it was cancer that did her in. But she ran the tightest ship of anyone before or since, as far as accuracy and correctness of what made it to print.
CONGRATULATIONS ! "Murphy S."
Once more, you have exercised your droll sense of humor, and dragged us out of our holiday doldrums, and into the weeds of Left Field with a topic that elicits a list of varied, and interesting responses.
Leave it to our resident splinter dealer to start off a new season, in a different direction,
but on topic! (more or less), Muchas Gracias.
Hey- I'm a curious person. If I were a monkey, I'd probably be named George.
Angela Pusztai-Pasternak We read stories, evaluate stories, rewrite stories, rearrange stories, schedule stories, tell stories, write stories, illustrate stories, verify stories, correct stories, love stories, hate stories, find stories, fill in stories, trim up stories, question stories, dig up stories, pull out stories, map out stories, organize stories, and do it all over again. And we're always the kid that hands in his paper without his name on it.
Well said, Ang.
I'll add one: they patiently tolerate finicky authors and long debates on article subheads far too close to production deadlines.
Having had the pleasure to work with Trains' editorial staff on several occasions, I've always been impressed and thankful for their work. I can promise you that without its editorial staff, this magazine would not be "THE magazine of railroading" and merely a mismatched collection of train pictures and writings.
TrainManTy Angela Pusztai-Pasternak We read stories, evaluate stories, rewrite stories, rearrange stories, schedule stories, tell stories, write stories, illustrate stories, verify stories, correct stories, love stories, hate stories, find stories, fill in stories, trim up stories, question stories, dig up stories, pull out stories, map out stories, organize stories, and do it all over again. And we're always the kid that hands in his paper without his name on it. Well said, Ang. I'll add one: they patiently tolerate finicky authors and long debates on article subheads far too close to production deadlines. Having had the pleasure to work with Trains' editorial staff on several occasions, I've always been impressed and thankful for their work. I can promise you that without its editorial staff, this magazine would not be "THE magazine of railroading" and merely a mismatched collection of train pictures and writings.
Funny, Tyler. It's all in a day's work. Without our vast pool of authors and photographers, we'd never have all of this wonderful content.
Excerpt from Trains
Rosemary Entringer, 1925-1977
The First Lady of Trains
Managing Editor Rosemary Entringer, died July 29, 1977, no longer able to contain a malady which she seemingly had fought to a standstill. Her name first appeared on the magazine's masthead in our August 1948 issue, Volume 8 Number 10; and her hand graced every edition since, including this one, Volume 37 Number 12. She brought to Kalmbach Publishing Co. a classical Catholic education and the compassion and pragmatism of her Irish-German ancestry, and these investments reaped our readership a return beyond its ken. In this trade the glory is accorded the writers, photographers, and artists. But it was Rosy who dotted the i’s…
Excerpt from Foremost Women in Communication (1970)
ENTRINGER, ROSEMARY, Ed., Railroad Bks., '65-; Mng. Ed., Trains Magazine, Kalmbach Publishing Co., 1027 N. Seventh St., Milw., Wis. 53233, '54-; Assoc. Ed., '48-'54; Edtl. Secy., '48; Theta Sigma Phi (VP-Membership, '69-70); Assn. of Railway Eds., Railroad PR Assn.; Mundelein Col., BA, '47 (Crtv. Writing Aw.); b. Madison, Wis., 1925; p. Col. Joseph B. and Geraldine M. Hickey Entringer...
“Our managing editor (Rosemary Entringer) pulls the throttle on a T-1."
Angela Pusztai-Pasternak Murphy Siding I see the Kalmbach members o f our forum all have the word :editor" in their title. What exactly does a magazine editor do? On the surface, it seems like they would edit other people's writing, and ? Hi, Murphy Siding: What do editors do? I hope we provide a crucial part to the enjoyment of this magazine and website. Imagine if a movie had no director or a restaurant had no chef or a train had no conductor. What would those experiences be like? So here's what we do. We read stories, evaluate stories, rewrite stories, rearrange stories, schedule stories, tell stories, write stories, illustrate stories, verify stories, correct stories, love stories, hate stories, find stories, fill in stories, trim up stories, question stories, dig up stories, pull out stories, map out stories, organize stories, and do it all over again. And we're always the kid that hands in his paper without his name on it. Thanks for asking. Hope this helps! Ang
I didn't think I was going to find much of interest in this thread, but I was curious. Well, I sure was wrong! Kalmbach publications have always stood out as highly professional productions. I think it goes back to Al K. himself, who was a publications guy who loved trains and wanted to write about them. Contrast this with the many hobby publications that are put out by people who want to serve their hobby, but don't have the publishing background to do it in a professional manner.
It's wonderful to see that the modern generation recognizes Rosie Entringer's contributions, even though she passed away so long ago. She was one of the solid pros who were so instrumental in realizing Al Kalmbach's vision. In the male-dominated world of 1950's - 1960's railroading, she more than held her own place of honor and respect. I've always liked the fact that Kalmbach has given women an opportunity to shine; and Rosie was just the first of many women who have been more than equal to the challenges of their jobs at Kalmbach.
It's been many years since I've visited Kalmbach's offices. In fact, I've never been to the current location. But I hope there is a big photo of Rosemary Entringer prominently displayed there, and I hope the women of today's Kalmbach understand her contributions. They have a proud legacy.
Tom
That June 1962 issue (Managing Editor surrounded by locomotive cab) is the first issue of Trains that I ever bought for myself (I was 12).
Murphy Siding Angela Pusztai-Pasternak Murphy Siding I see the Kalmbach members o f our forum all have the word :editor" in their title. What exactly does a magazine editor do? On the surface, it seems like they would edit other people's writing, and ? Hi, Murphy Siding: What do editors do? I hope we provide a crucial part to the enjoyment of this magazine and website. Imagine if a movie had no director or a restaurant had no chef or a train had no conductor. What would those experiences be like? So here's what we do. We read stories, evaluate stories, rewrite stories, rearrange stories, schedule stories, tell stories, write stories, illustrate stories, verify stories, correct stories, love stories, hate stories, find stories, fill in stories, trim up stories, question stories, dig up stories, pull out stories, map out stories, organize stories, and do it all over again. And we're always the kid that hands in his paper without his name on it. Thanks for asking. Hope this helps! Ang Thanks. I get the gist of this. Editors take the Play Doh of information and make a monthly magazine out of it. Where do the different *ranks* like Production Editor, Associate Editor and Assistant Editor fit into the plan?
Cool, Murphy Siding. Check out our "Meet the Staff" page. Our bios break down our responsibilities. http://trn.trains.com/en/Magazine/Meet%20the%20Staff.aspx. To be brief, our titles reflect our experience, assistant being the first stepping stone, then associate, and then senior. As production editor, I am the project editor of stories for print and Web, just like the rest of the staff, but I also proofread the entire issue before it goes to press. I am also in charge of workflow, training staff, deadline maintenance, issue planning assistance, management of contract editors, AP and Trains style compliance, and more. Jim is also a project editor of stories like the rest of the staff, but he also plans issues, coordinates live streaming, represents the magazine in various capacities, constructs the budget, creates the vision for the magazine and website, and more.
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