Mark Holland
Sports copy editor
Name: Mark Holland
Title: Sports copy editor
Educational background: Bachelor’s degree, broadcast journalism, Drake
University
Employer: Star Tribune
Job Description: I edit staff and wire stories, write headlines and
captions, produce design elements
What do you like most about your job?
The immediacy. Most of our copy comes in a rush within a couple of hours
of deadline, and it’s a challenge to play traffic cop and sort it out,
even when we have to react to the surprise breaking story
What are the most important skills and character traits you have to do your job well?
Patience, good time management and flexibility. You also have to have a
sense of humor and not take things, or yourself, too seriously. Working
in sports seldom crosses into the realm of gloom and doom
What are the biggest challenges of your job?
Working evenings and weekends means it takes some work to spend quality time with the family, remembering
birthdays, school events, etc.
What advice do you have for young, aspiring journalists?
Learn the technology of the business. Read as many things as you can.
Think creatively. Learn from your predecessors in the print and
electronic media, but develop your own style.
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