PC Magazine's Steinhart Tops National Competition To Win Edit Expresssm Editor's Challenge

BURLINGTON, MA—May 17, 2002—nSight, Inc., announced today that Michael Steinhart, staff editor for PC Magazine, has won the Edit Express Editor’s Challenge, beating more than 50 editors and reporters in a national competition that attracted contestants from some of the most prestigious publications in the country.

Steinhart edged out Brett Cough, copy editor at Network World, by a second, identifying 10 grammatical errors and typos in just 1 minute, 50 seconds. They were the only two contestants to identify all 10 errors. The contest drew contestants from media such as The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, Computerworld, Red Herring and Industry Standard. Steinhart won a Palm™ m125 handheld computer for his victory.

"The Editor’s Challenge was designed as a fun way to raise awareness of nSight’s Edit Express, a new service designed to eradicate typos, grammatical errors, and factual inconsistencies from print and interactive documents," said Dan Cote, nSight’s director of marketing. "The Editor’s Challenge demonstrated how difficult it is to find and correct every mistake in a written document. Although many top editors and reporters took the challenge, only 4 percent of the contestants scored a perfect 10."

Steinhart, who has been writing and editing for 10 years, credits his training at PC Magazine for sharpening his editing skills.

"We have rigorous supervision and high standards," he said. "The idea that people are making purchases based on our recommendations is impressed upon us very early on, so we are very, very careful about what we write."

Steinhart said several people on the editorial staff took the Editor’s Challenge.

"I thank nSight for offering the challenge," he said. "It created useful feedback and discussion in the office. It was a fun diversion that actually helped with our professional training."

Cough, who said she is looking forward to a rematch, has been a copy editor at Network World for three years and previously worked at The Bangor News in Maine. She said her editing skills come from being an avid reader.

"I’m very anal," she said. "I enjoy editing because I have an eye for it. It comes naturally."

Cote said he was surprised at the speed with which some editors completed the challenge. "We started the Editor’s Challenge by asking the question, ‘How good an editor are you?’" Cote said. "Apparently, in many cases, the answer is, ‘Very, very good.’ However, the fact that only a couple of outstanding editors were able to identify every error highlights the need for a service like Edit Express."

Participants were asked to identify 10 grammatical errors and typos in the following three paragraphs:

As an editor, your probably sick to death of poorly written press releases, obnoxious pitches and jargon hyping the latest technology. If the PR flacks want to hype "best of breed" technology, let him contact the Westminster Kennel Club?

nSight shares you’re respect for the English language. You won’t hear Edit Express referred to as a "best-practices language process solution." We won’t hype them as providing "new metrics in word configuration and disbursement." Even if we tired, we wouldn’t be allowed by our editors.

Edit Express provides businesses with real editors, just like you. They’re goal is to eradicate typos, grammatical errors, and factual inconstencies from print and interactive documents. You can’t help them - and our public relations firm - by publishing information about Edit Express in your next issue.

Through Edit Express, nSight provides everything from proofreading to significant rewriting quickly and affordably, using time-honored editorial standards, experienced editors, and technology. The cost of Edit Express depends on the type of edit needed, the subject matter expertise required, and the complexity and length of the document. There is no extra charge for rush orders. Costs start as low as $40 for proofreading a simple brochure.

Additional Editor’s Challenges are being planned.

About nSight
nSight, Inc., of Burlington, Massachusetts, is a leading print and interactive communications firm offering consulting, training, staffing, and project management services to companies, institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Founded in 1982, nSight’s editorial, creative, and technical services have been used by some of the world’s leading companies, including Microsoft Press, EMC, IBM, Akamai Technologies, Compaq, Harvard Business School, Pearson Education, Fidelity Investments, and Ernst & Young. nSight’s full-time staff of 40 is augmented by hundreds of freelance editorial, design, and technical professionals from the Greater Boston area. nSight also has a working database of more than 5,000 professionals that provides access to specialized talent throughout the country. For additional information, visit nSight's Web site at www.nSightWorks.com or the Edit Expresssm Web site at www.EditExpress.com.

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Dave Kowal
3D-PR, Inc.
dkowal@3D-PR.com
Tel: 508-393-9600
Dan Cote
nSight, Inc.
dcote@nSightWorks.com
Tel: 781-273-6300 x6320