Tomorrow should be rich with niches, copy editors were told at a recent Southeast conference. Melanie Sill, executive editor of The News & Observer, encouraged optimism Jan. 28 when she welcomed the regional conference of the Southeast chapter of the American Copy Editors Society at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Participants from four states attended the conference, in which the usual suspects such as style, skeptical editing, news design, deadline work and effective communication were complemented by critiques and sessions on fitness and firearms terminology.