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Reader question: Please explain this sentence, and in particular “short leash”: The difference between legitimate news publishers and a blogger is that professional reporters have an editor to keep them on a short leash. My comments: Professional reporters have an editor to read their copy for a second opinion – check for grammatical errors and see whether the story is factually viable at all. In short, thanks to the presence of an editor, traditional newspapers are able to produce generally credible copies. As for the editor keeping reporters “on a short leash”, that means with the editors (more often called sub-editors or copy readers as a matter of fact) constantly egging them on to get EVERYTHING right, reporters seldom get out of control. That’s in contrast to the blogger on the Internet, who is off the grid, so to speak. He has only himself to work with. If he thinks he has a scoop and gets over-zealous, he may let his copy get out of hand and hence produce a story that is known as sensational journalism – high on sensation, low in terms of believability. That’s “the difference between legitimate news publishers and a blogger” explained. Actually, I feel it’s a compliment that traditional news publishers don’t always deserve because the quality of journalism in general has been in decline. However, I do agree that the Internet blogger tends to, on a whim, brag about any little farce. | 
