Submitted by talidapali on Tue, 2008/05/27 - 11:35am.
I just have to shake my head and sigh. Supposedly the folks that work for newspapers and television stations have at least a high school education. Not that you could tell by the way they spell common words though.
If the people that bring us our news can't be bothered to hit the spell check function on their computer or at least have a dictionary at hand for bothersome words, then what hope do we have that students will see any benefit in getting things right?
_________________________________________________ "You can't fix stupid..." ~ Ron White" "I never said I wasn't a brat..." ~ Talidapali
Submitted by Pam Strickland on Tue, 2008/05/27 - 11:46am.
Actually a copy editor, the folks who write the headlines, have at least a bachelor's degree. These days it is very, very rare for someone who works at a city daily to be there without college. J-PROF might have some statistics, but I know maybe two people off the top of my head who have newsroom jobs and don't have a bachelor's degree. Many also have a master's.
Pam Strickland
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut
Submitted by Jake Jost (not verified) on Tue, 2008/05/27 - 12:54pm.
Strait wouldn't be caught by spell-check. It's a word, too. (Gibraltar, Bering, etc?)
The day I can avoid making any mistakes will be a great one. I haven't had one yet, and I somewhat doubt any of the other folks making comments have. It's a silly mistake and troublingly high-profile, but the FSM would likely consider it a mitzvah for you to cut him or her some slack.
Submitted by Pam Strickland on Tue, 2008/05/27 - 1:23pm.
True, but good journalists don't rely on the spellcheck alone. Plus, at least one if not two people should have seen that headline before it hit the press. There are mistakes in newspapers and blogs and newsletters all the time, but that doesn't mean we should be lackadaisical about them.
Pam Strickland
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut
I wondered if it was a joke, too, and red (heh) the article three times looking for the setup. The fact that they fixed it online (it was the same as the print version early this AM) suggests not.
It's not a huge deal. You can spot misteaks (heh) in the paper just about every day. It was the context of the story that made this one funny and newsworthy.
Submitted by Jake Jost (not verified) on Tue, 2008/05/27 - 3:21pm.
There's quite a difference between a) insisting that someone clearly doesn't have an education or is a hack because of a simple error and b) expecting quality and due caution in your reporting. The first is, well, being kind of a jerk. The second is being a judicious consumer.
I assure you that, when a mistake is made, any journalist worth their salt kicks themselves twice as hard as you ever could. Having a laugh in a funny situation is perfectly appropriate, but there's a line between that and piling on.
Submitted by Pam Strickland on Tue, 2008/05/27 - 4:23pm.
Mr. Jost,
I have a mass comm degree and spent more than a decade as a daily journalist. And I've worked in public relations and as a freelance writer/editor. Plus I've taught writing and journalism.
I know about that kicking of which you speak. I've had to do it once or twice. I didn't do a from your post, but I will cop to b.
Pam Strickland
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut
Submitted by Jake Jost (not verified) on Tue, 2008/05/27 - 6:26pm.
I'll agree with your assessment of a and b. However, I expect you'd agree with me that the post I replied to (maybe not apparent from the threading--Talidapali's) was all about the a.
Submitted by redmondkr on Tue, 2008/05/27 - 1:56pm.
It's funny. I've noticed here that posters who generally agree with our positions on the matter du jour, are forgiven little eccentricities when they rattle the keyboard. I, for one, just think,"Bless his/her heart, (s)he's in a hurry and we did at least get the gist of that statement."
Ah, but the trolls. I'm one of the worst to give them what for when they don't dot their T's and cross their I's.
And I freely admit that my grammar is at times similar to that of Dave Gardner who once said, "I know my grammar ain't too good, but it's communicable."
I don't see any use in having a uniform and arbitrary way of spelling words. We might as well make all clothes alike and cook all dishes alike. Sameness is tiresome; variety is pleasing. I have a correspondent whose letters are always a refreshment to me, there is such a breezy unfettered originality about his orthography. He always spells Kow with a large K. Now that is just as good as to spell it with a small one. It is better. It gives the imagination a broader field, a wider scope. It suggests to the mind a grand, vague, impressive new kind of a cow. - Mark Twain in a speech at a spelling match, Hartford, Connecticut, May 12, 1875. Reported in the Hartford Courant, May 13, 1875
and this:
...simplified spelling is all right, but, like chastity, you can carry it too far. - Mark Twain - The Alphabet and Simplified Spelling speech, December 9, 1907
Lumpy: Hell, that's how George spells it so, by-god, what's the problem? OK. Now who's dealing?
True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler
I just have to shake my head and sigh. Supposedly the folks that work for newspapers and television stations have at least a high school education. Not that you could tell by the way they spell common words though.
If the people that bring us our news can't be bothered to hit the spell check function on their computer or at least have a dictionary at hand for bothersome words, then what hope do we have that students will see any benefit in getting things right?
_________________________________________________
"You can't fix stupid..." ~ Ron White"
"I never said I wasn't a brat..." ~ Talidapali
Actually a copy editor, the folks who write the headlines, have at least a bachelor's degree. These days it is very, very rare for someone who works at a city daily to be there without college. J-PROF might have some statistics, but I know maybe two people off the top of my head who have newsroom jobs and don't have a bachelor's degree. Many also have a master's.
Pam Strickland
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut
Perhaps the Strait-A student would be a good entrant in a geography bee.
Mark Harmon
MY EYES! THE GOGGLES DON'T WORK!
True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler
Strait wouldn't be caught by spell-check. It's a word, too. (Gibraltar, Bering, etc?)
The day I can avoid making any mistakes will be a great one. I haven't had one yet, and I somewhat doubt any of the other folks making comments have. It's a silly mistake and troublingly high-profile, but the FSM would likely consider it a mitzvah for you to cut him or her some slack.
True, but good journalists don't rely on the spellcheck alone. Plus, at least one if not two people should have seen that headline before it hit the press. There are mistakes in newspapers and blogs and newsletters all the time, but that doesn't mean we should be lackadaisical about them.
Pam Strickland
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut
I'm kinda wondering if it wasn't somebody's idea of a joke.
I wondered if it was a joke, too, and red (heh) the article three times looking for the setup. The fact that they fixed it online (it was the same as the print version early this AM) suggests not.
It's not a huge deal. You can spot misteaks (heh) in the paper just about every day. It was the context of the story that made this one funny and newsworthy.
At least it wasn't a whopper like this one.
There's quite a difference between a) insisting that someone clearly doesn't have an education or is a hack because of a simple error and b) expecting quality and due caution in your reporting. The first is, well, being kind of a jerk. The second is being a judicious consumer.
I assure you that, when a mistake is made, any journalist worth their salt kicks themselves twice as hard as you ever could. Having a laugh in a funny situation is perfectly appropriate, but there's a line between that and piling on.
Mr. Jost,
I have a mass comm degree and spent more than a decade as a daily journalist. And I've worked in public relations and as a freelance writer/editor. Plus I've taught writing and journalism.
I know about that kicking of which you speak. I've had to do it once or twice. I didn't do a from your post, but I will cop to b.
Pam Strickland
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut
I'll agree with your assessment of a and b. However, I expect you'd agree with me that the post I replied to (maybe not apparent from the threading--Talidapali's) was all about the a.
No questioning of your cred was intended.
You're right that I wasn't sure what post you were responding to.
In peace,
Pam Strickland
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut
Perhaps the Strait-A student would be a good entrant in a geography bee.
Painful pun, Mark. (But delicious!)
Larry Van Guilder
It's funny. I've noticed here that posters who generally agree with our positions on the matter du jour, are forgiven little eccentricities when they rattle the keyboard. I, for one, just think,"Bless his/her heart, (s)he's in a hurry and we did at least get the gist of that statement."
Ah, but the trolls. I'm one of the worst to give them what for when they don't dot their T's and cross their I's.
And I freely admit that my grammar is at times similar to that of Dave Gardner who once said, "I know my grammar ain't too good, but it's communicable."
and this:
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