According to Nelson's Creative Editing for Canadian Journalists copy editors need to make sure that all the numbers are correct: the addition and synthesis of journalists is correct. In stories such as "Pension consultations too narrow: critics" in the Edmonton Sun, it was important for the journalist and editor to make sure all the numbers used were correct before publication. Sometimes a journalist needs to do addition when statistics have increased or decreased to show the difference. In the bottom of the article, "Most Alberta tuition hikes rejected" in the Edmonton Journal, the author probably did some math to figure out that NAIT had purposed to increase tuition 40 per cent. A copy editor probably double checked the mathematics to ensure 40 per cent was the correct number.
Numbers that are correct and that accurately represent the subject matter can be crucial to a story, for this reason they need to be given care and attention by both the writer and the copy editor. Just as Ricki Cundliffe said in her blog post "Editing Detective": "...there is no reason why the writers themselves cannot take the time to once-over their work to save everyone time and trouble." Looking over numbers is supremely important as they are often difficult for a copy editor to double check.
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