Copy boy. The dirty work.

Jargon of the day: Copy boy

Copy boy, is an older term for a man or woman that keeps the newsroom running smoothly by answering phones, tending to office machines, organizing paper work, or running around town to get photos or other material for stories.

Since is sort of, undermining , to call a 45 year old man a "copy boy" the term has transformed into copy aide, or office assistant. These people do lots of jobs. They keep the newsroom from backing up and being unorganized. There might be 3-4 "copy boys" in a newsroom at once. Usually, they are out running errands for the paper, like collecting photos, gathering information or picking up material for stories.