In an episode of Ted Lasso, a sportswriter tells Ted about a story they’ve written that would damage the beloved coach’s reputation, claiming an anonymous source provided the information. Almost never will you see a hit-piece article quote a single source, especially if it’s a big and juicy story. Sure, there may well be a key source that’s able to provide more info than the rest, but banking a theory on the words of one single person is grossly inept, simply laughable, and would get thrown out by most any editor.
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Myth: Editors Are The Worst, Most Miserable People
Gosh, news editors sure are the worst. That is, according to the talkies. They’re either always angry, mostly screaming, super passive-aggressive, and just general jerks like Vivian Kent’s editor in Netflix’s Inventing Anna. Or, they look like they have the worst job in the world and would much rather sell car insurance like Tom Hammerschmidt, Zoe Barnes’s editor in House of Cards.
Netflix
Either that or they’re just bad-tempered, with a glass of booze or a fat cigar permanently stapled to their hands. Like John Slattery, who plays Fletch’s former newspaper editor in Confess, Fletch:
Paramount Pictures
And, of course, comics’ contribution to this stereotype of a-hole editors in the form of Perry White, the Daily Planet editor in D.C. movies: