These shifts are influenced by one clear factor. The frequency of deter- miner deletion in a station's own internal copy represents a target level. Copy editors "know" the frequency of deletion in external input copy, "know" the target level in their station's own copy, and apply editing rules to shift the input towards that target. 6 The further a station's target level is from the frequency in the input copy received, the higher will be the level of application of the editing rule needed to adjust that frequency. In addition, no editing rule of determiner deletion occurs in the sample. The shift is always to reinsert the determiners, and never to delete more, because the target is a low level of deletion. But the editor does not reinsert all the deleted determiners, so that even after editing the style of external copy is not identical to internally-originated copy. Editors are prepared to sanction in external copy forms they would not accept from their own journalists.