Cutting out the copy editors?

David Montgomery from the European newspaper group Mecom has openly the questioned the need for copy editors. "'Reporters out in the field can call up a page on their laptop and put copy straight onto the page without intervention,' he said. 'I see a situation where experienced journalists that can be trusted have no barrier to communication with their audience,' he said. He endorses an environment in which 'journalists can be freed from humdrum roles and the sub-editing culture can break down.'" Sub-editing is essentially copy editing. This news comes to the chagrin of the Baltimore Sun's John McIntyre. McIntyre makes the point that editing is what allows for reporters to look good and present factually accurate stories to the public. While Montgomery does have an interesting proposal, but it is not feasible.