editor edits out a vital part of what i wrote
By sandragellar
@sandragellar (440)
Philippines
March 8, 2009 12:52am CST
i have been asked to write an article about a drug. i was given some sources and i was also advised to look for other sources.
i came across a controversy involving the drug so i included it in the article. i made sure to report only the facts; no opinions. i told my editor that i wanted both sides to be aired. i wanted readers to know that the article they were reading was not just some promotional article written for the drug company.
so, i was surprised when the small paragraph containing the info on the controversy was edited out when the article came out!
writers usually sign a contract. sometimes, the contract says that after an article is submitted, the editor gets a free hand in editing everything as he sees fit. but if the context of the article is changed, isn't that going against the wishes of the writer?
what should be done to avoid being misquoted as a writer? if you're a writer, have you signed the same contract saying your article is to be edited in any means seen fit by the editor?
1 person likes this
1 response
@AnythngArt (3302)
• United States
9 Mar 09
Unfortunately, the editor can do as he or she wishes if this is "work for hire." What that means is you were hired to write an article, and the person that pays you to do so retains total rights to alter this in any way they see fit. This is not like a book, where you have a contract and have some rights about the final content.
Your only option would be if you submitted the article as a whole (before agreeing to write it) and then decided to withdraw it from consideration after it was edited. This doesn't sound like the case, if they were telling you where to do research. You had already made the agreement before the article was even completed.
Your only real recourse is not to take work with them again. Not everyone is ethical, and if this is going out under your name, it reflects on you. At this point, I wouldn't even add this to my portfolio if I were you. From your comments, it sounds like you tried to do the right thing, but legally you don't have any right to press your case.
@sandragellar (440)
• Philippines
9 Mar 09
hi, anythngart!
actually, there was something really weird about everything.
i was hired to write the article, and although i was given a few sources, i was instructed to feel free to research anywhere else. they never mentioned upon my acceptance of the assignment that they were to alter anything there other than grammatical errors.
it was AFTER i submitted the article that they asked me to sign a piece of paper. i read the contract and it said things like "may edit everything" and "retain rights to the article."
i didn't even know of those terms. i asked the guidelines before i took on the assignment and i was shown a different set of guidelines. they never even told me they would edit the context of what i wrote.
the article was already published when they showed me the contract. even before i saw the contract, my article has already been published (and edited without permission).
they are a rather international magazine. and a respected one at that. and they haven't paid me up to now. (the article was published 3 months ago.)
tsk, tsk.
