The passage, and specifically the lines in question, tell us that these editors were presented with facts, and then chose what to make of those facts. They decided what to emphasize, what to include or not include, and what order to present them in.
This is a pretty good match for what a director of a reenactment might do. They would choose which parts of the event to emphasize, which are worth recreating and which are worth ignoring, and the overall style and tone of the event.
Were there any other answer chicles that appealed to you?