Meet a Tulsa World editor who calls herself the ' word witch'

Every newspaper in the country has reporters and editors and all the other jobs associated with getting the paper published. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Rick Wells introduces us to a unique postion at

Wednesday, November 17th 2004, 4:18 pm

By: News On 6

Every newspaper in the country has reporters and editors and all the other jobs associated with getting the paper published.

News on 6 reporter Rick Wells introduces us to a unique postion at the Tulsa World. Someone they call the "Word Witch".

The afternoon meeting in the newsroom at the Tulsa World and Rusty Lang, the Tulsa World's general editor, is critiquing the morning paper.

It's a chance to take a look at what she thought was good and maybe not so good. She says she tries to represent the readers, making sure they can understand what the paper is talking about. She applies her critical eye to every paragraph on every page.

Among her biggest pet peeves, over used phrases and cliches. Puns are â€˜OKâ€™ when used appropriately like in a story about curbing construction on the Main Mall. Here's something she didn't like. "We say, prosecutors fumbled, which I think is too cute for a serious news story."

After this daily critique is over the paper is left posted for all to see with her notes, the good ones and otherwise. "The most important thing it brings out is the discussion among the editors."

And the daily discussion, she says will make a good paper even better. At the Tulsa World she's the â€˜word witchâ€™, a name she gave herself. "I just figured people would be calling me what it rhymes with, so I thought I'd beat them to the punch." A witch with a sense of humor.