Reporters tend to be young and receive little guidance. Copy desk chief selects stories, lays out A1 and jump pages and acts as main slot editor for wire. City desk slots local copy, except B1 stories. In recent years, the copy desk has been a stepping stone to reporting or assistant city editor jobs. There is a core of rimmers who are so by choice, and one or two who got washed up there and have nowhere else to go. 5.
Copy editors are near the bottom of the food chain, just above clerks.
Happily, we are allowed to query reporters, and only lede changes require advance approval. The city editors generally appreciate us because we often give stories the only editing they ever get. Reporters generally respond favorably to intelligent questions, calmly stated. Copy desk chief occasionally asks a rimrat to lay out page or help in the slot. I usually assist in the slot, particularly with local-front stories, and paginate when absolutely necessary.