Nearly half of our copy editors have joined the desk since the start of 1992. One copy editor has been on the desk for 33 years, and there are eight or more whose experience on The Sun's copy desk extends in a range from 10 years to 24 years. Coyotes for copy editors, Macs are for section fronts. There is full pagination. We are now regularly setting full pages of type, with pasteup of art done in the composing room.
Tryouts seem to be very uncommon.
The time it takes to master the machine and the coding has made it impractical to try out candidates. Instread, we administer a test, taking from two to four hours, that is divided into sections on general knowledge and problems in editing. Copy editors receive only the most minimal training for the duties they are asked to perform. New employees on the desk get a week or so to find their way through these materials, gradually increasing the amount of live copy they handle. We also try to arrange for new employees to be paired with mentors.