No Proofreading

What's happening in the world of Newspapers and Magazines?

No Proofreading

Postby jon » Sat Nov 06, 2010 6:07 pm

Past experience tells me that most typos, especially missing words, in on-line articles are likely to make it to the print edition of the newspaper. Here are a couple I noted in the last 10 minutes in two of the three articles I've read:
  1. "I just think he was a man vision." - last words of http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/C ... story.html
  2. With his grandchildren in tow, veteran Brian Titus, left, talks Edmonton-Centre MP Laurie Hawn - caption in http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/E ... story.html
What have you seen lately?
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby Mike Cleaver » Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:54 pm

Proofreaders disappeared during the first round of cost cutting many years ago.
Spelling, grammar, syntax, sentence structure, capitalization and punctuation all went out the window.
Broadcast News in the distant past had a senior editor vet everything before it went out on the wire.
Newspapers and magazines had proofreaders.
The computer is what really sealed the fate of the English language.
Everyone simply uses the computer to write and then simply dumps it on line or into the queue for broadcast or print.
No one goes over it before it ends up at its destination.
I have offered proofreading and rewrite services for years but few are willing to spend the dollars to ensure what's sent out is correct.
With the texting generation, anything goes.
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby newsjunkie11 » Sun Nov 07, 2010 2:18 am

Mike Cleaver wrote:Spelling, grammar, syntax, sentence structure, capitalization and punctuation all went out the window.
The computer is what really sealed the fate of the English language.



Mike:

No question, I would agree that the advent of computers has been both a blessing and a curse for many of us in the media.

However, we also agree to disagree.

"Spelling, grammar, syntax, sentence structure, capitalization and punctuation all went out the window" long before the advent of computers, in my opinion.

I have worked on both sides of the fence, in both broadcasting and the print media, (try six newspapers in B.C., Alberta, and Ontario) all over Canada, since 1977, when computers weren't even invented yet ! (unless you can call the Radio Shack TRS-80, a computer !) :tail

Back in the 1970's and 80's, there were print journalists, as well as radio journalists I had worked alongside, (some of whom had the glorious "BJ" designation "Bachelor of Journalism" from Carleton U.,) or graduates of the world-famous Fanshawe College Broadcast Journalism program. Who, btw, thought they were all SH*T HOT, but none of them could spell or write properly !

But, they could do shorthand....and write copious notes like stenographers... Sorry, but real journalists are NOT stenographers ! LOL

The purpose of a well written, journalistic story.... is to induce a yelp or cry of anguish, (or a primordial scream?) within the reader or listener; ie to shake them out of their banal, "stuck up," apathetic lives...

No point in spinning a perfected, English, grammatical sack of malarkey...if the article... SUCKS ! :tail :tail :tail :tail

To this end, I have also worked alongside bitter, cynical, news (and sports) veterans who only went to high school or worse, but their writing and grammar was "perfection" and boy, could they churn out news and sports stories, voicers, wraparounds and actualities....like a human teletype machine... ?

I do believe that attention to the English language, in media, is largely a matter of personal pride...You can't generalize, either. Some young people fresh out of college I have worked with are very good spellers and writers of English, but others are simply horrible writers !

Nothing in the media seems very logical to me, anyhow.

Some of the laziest, most deceitful, corrupt, gawd-awful writers and speakers, "void of talent" people I have worked with, are still gainfully employed in the media and, in some cases, have made a million bucks or more...clearly by making a career of b.s.'ing others...

Similarly, I have also worked with the most talented, politically-correct, hard-working, university educated media types who are currently out of the business, became hard-lucked, under-employed, or their lives are in a f*cking mess. BUT, they can spell and write good grammar like a banshee...

There's a very good reason why the former entertainment reporter Robin Leach once wondered: (in his cockney accent) "I'm Robin Leach and I don't know why...

Apparently, having a horse-shoe up one's a**, (in addition to English language proficiency) is a key factor to being a "successful journalist". or indeed, a "success" in anything!


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Re: No Proofreading

Postby Jack Bennest » Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:58 am

I do not pretend to be perfect and I admit to my weaknesses. But. What you put on the page - in an email or
on a blog - or - even this MB - writers should take care in their presentation.

Use 'Word' to create it and check it. Look at it carefully before pushing the publish button.

I worked in an era of radio - where you made the 40 seconds, written on the back of a folded bunch of writing paper
from the newspaper guys - into a short story on what you had seen, heard about, or seen in a report/judgement.

The art of "gssting". And making it understandable to the audience. Today it is hard for me to write more than a few
lines about anything. Keep it simple, Shirley.
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby Mike Cleaver » Wed Jan 25, 2012 3:45 pm

Latest gem on the web today:

Evergreen Line to finally break down after contractors selected
Vancouver Sun - ‎15 minutes ago‎



METRO VANCOUVER -- After decades of delays, the $1.4-billion Evergreen Line linking Burnaby, Port Moody and Coquitlam is finally expected to break ground.
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby Jack Bennest » Wed Jan 25, 2012 6:05 pm

just now on vancouver sun


Many Canadians have be killed or hurt in Mexico




Canadians have long sought refuge from this country's bitter winter cold in the sizzling heat of sun-soaked Mexico. But it seems paradise isn't always...
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby Neumann Sennheiser » Wed Jan 25, 2012 6:27 pm

Jack Bennest wrote:just now on vancouver sun


Many Canadians have be killed or hurt in Mexico


..on the plus side, at least they can has cheezburgers (Hamburguesas con Queso???)
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby J Kendrick » Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:19 pm

Mike Cleaver wrote:Latest gem on the web today:

Evergreen Line to finally break down after contractors selected
Vancouver Sun - ‎15 minutes ago‎



Two mistakes in one headline. That's rich....
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby The Unknown Copywriter » Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:13 pm

J Kendrick wrote:
Mike Cleaver wrote:Latest gem on the web today:

Evergreen Line to finally break down after contractors selected
Vancouver Sun - ‎15 minutes ago‎



Two mistakes in one headline. That's rich....



Darn...they fixed it. I wanted a screen shot of that...
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby J Kendrick » Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:32 pm

The Unknown Copywriter wrote:
J Kendrick wrote:
Mike Cleaver wrote:Latest gem on the web today:

Evergreen Line to finally break down after contractors selected
Vancouver Sun - ‎15 minutes ago‎



Two mistakes in one headline. That's rich....



Darn...they fixed it. I wanted a screen shot of that...


Well... At least it's been half fixed.

Someone still needs to pass high school English grammar class...
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby Howaboutthat » Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:57 am

From NW's online site:

Not very often you see two ferry terminals misspelled in the same sentence. (let alone the poor grammar)

"The search for a man who went overboard a BC Ferry travelling from Schwartz Bay to Tsawwaassen today, has been called off."
Houston, We're dealing with morons!.
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby Mike Cleaver » Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:22 pm

CBC.ca

As much as $1.9 million missing after U of A killings and robbery
Edmonton Journal - ‎3 hours ago‎



By Ryan Cormier, Edmonton Journal August 10, 2012 6:29 PM Travis Baumgartner is taken out of a van by Border Services officers at the Aldergrove, BC boarder crossing, Saturday, June 16, 2012.
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby jon » Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:34 pm

Mike Cleaver wrote:CBC.ca

As much as $1.9 million missing after U of A killings and robbery
Edmonton Journal - ‎3 hours ago‎



By Ryan Cormier, Edmonton Journal August 10, 2012 6:29 PM Travis Baumgartner is taken out of a van by Border Services officers at the Aldergrove, BC boarder crossing, Saturday, June 16, 2012.

ActuaIly, as well as the "boarder" typo, the writer also forgot to subtract the $330,000 that was recovered at the border.
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby jon » Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:10 am

Neither of those errors made it to the print edition. Not that they were corrected, just that the picture wasn't used and there was completely different headline: "Hub Mall Money Mystery"

Truth be told, that headline is also a typo, since HUB is an abbreviation and needs to be capitalized as it is on the official University web site. I couldn't find it by Googling, but my recollection from working for UofA in 1975-76 was that it stood for "Housing Union Building", since it was built by the UofA Students Union, which had previously built the Students Union Building (SUB).
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Re: No Proofreading

Postby jon » Sun Dec 08, 2013 1:54 pm

“There is a misconception that only the rich can afford an aircraft,” says Watson, who sells computer softwear to architects and engineers.

ref. - http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Edm ... story.html

Reminds me of the early '80s "dumb blond" joke.

Young Dumb Blond: "What do you do for a living?"

Old Company President: "I make and sell software."

Blond: "Oh, I just love your new fleece sweatshirts."
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