The Fonctionnaire and Other Delights.

John McIntyre reposted A newsroom taxonomy, and even though I never worked in a newsroom I definitely worked in editorial departments enough to be familiar with most of these types. He begins with THE MANAGERS: The Fonctionnaire The French understand the nature of the inevitable gray civil servant who will endure until the universe winds down in entropy. Stars burst into novas and burn out, corporate owners come and go, and management fads succeed fads, but The Fonctionnaire endures. Cunningly, The Functionnaire, unobserved, occupies some obscure office with a nebulous title and obscure duties, biding his time until the more talented colleagues flame out, and then occupies the chair of authority because no one else is left. To sit in a meeting with him is to perceive the processes of a wasting disease. Oh, how well I know that guy! But of course my main interest is in THE COPY EDITORS: The Pouncer The Pouncer takes his motto from Gore Vidal: “It is not enough to succeed. Others must…