Must-read story on future of editing

Okay, so my favorite line is "reporters who can't write are a dying breed," but the story's really about how the Internet is changing the editing processes at some (and eventually all, I'm sure) newspapers. Slate's Jack Shafer bases this story on a memo from Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr., who's no slacker when it comes to paying attention, and Managing Editor Phil Bennett. They rightly point out that a system that revolves around set deadlines is increasingly unworkable in a 24/7 news cycle where stories are being written and edited for the Web as they happen, not as they're needed for an arbitrary routine. They also call for fewer edits on stories, something I think is wise. What? Did I say that? I surely did -- because I think that well-trained editors should work as closely with the writer as possible, and that the more editors involved, the more potential for messing up the story. So I think ALL journalists should be good writers, and I think that those who devote themselves to editing copy should be really really good at editing copy. The combination of a good writer and a good copy editor is an awesome thing. But read this story, because if you're going into journalism at all, you need to appreciate all the ways in which the production process is evolving and how expectations have changed.