Editing newspapers.

Question

Well this summer has been a bore... until one day I took my neighbor's copy of the newspaper, I don't subscribe, it's the crappiest newspaper in the world, and took a look at the editorial section. I sat down and started correcting all their grammatical mistakes and flaws in their logic. After about 20+ minutes I had finished, afterwards I took out a piece of paper and wrote, "U aEr teH sCuk at tEh gReMmr." Then I sent them a copy of what I edited.

They haven't responded yet. I'm goign to do this every day until: 1. I get a statement back from them. 2. I get a job as a copy editor or 3. My neighbors arrest me for stealing their paper.

Now my question is, is it likely that I'll get 3 before 2 or is number 1 going to be knocking at my door first?

Guest · Accepted Answer

Hey,

Even I have come across some newspapers where there are so many grammatical mistakes. Well, I never ventured out to do what you have done.

Good luck! Hopefully if you end up with 2, it's good for all.

-Andy

Haoqide · Answer

Sircnay, you rock! The horrible editing in newspapers one of my pet peeves, too. I don't think they should even call them "editors" so much as maybe "marginal improvers". Of course, my grammar and punctuation aren't perfect by any means, but sometimes the errors are blaringly obvious.

I once complained to a friend of mine who works at a newspaper, and she basically defended the editors by telling me how much they have to edit and how busy they are. Ok, that may be true, but they should really look into hiring more editors because it's ridiculous.

I hope you get 1 and then 2 before 3, but 3 is pretty funny!!! lol

Miriam · Answer

Poor grammar and poor style seem to be rather common not only in English. You should see Argentinian newspapers and magazines!
In my country, it seems that literally anyone can be an editor. I have friends (Spanish language teachers) who use newspaper articles in their classrooms and have their students find the mistakes. I've done the same, more than once, with newspapers in English. And I think it's sad.
My husband is always saying "ours isn't a serious country, so what did you expect?". I expect people to do their work well, they are getting paid for their lousy editing. I've often wondered what qualifications editors are required to have. I've met only one newspaper editor in my life, and all he had was his high school diploma. Let me tell you, it was not enough!

I post mostly to the grammar section of the forums, and I've seen people post things such as "I'll ask a relative of mine who is an editor". And I shudder every time I read such a thing because, very often, the "editor" will come up with the wrong explanation, answer or correction.

Nowadays, when face-to face communication is being replaced by the use of the phone and the internet (emails, chat, etc.), it would be a good idea to try to express ourselves well in any language we may speak. The written word has always been powerful and it seems to become even more powerful each day, so why not try to use language at least appropriately?

We have a million verb tenses in Spanish, each has a very specific meaning and is appropriate in a different situation and context. We all learn the Spanish verb system in school, so there is really no excuse for making mistakes. Yet, we use only a few of those tenses, and we use them wrongly. I have a love for languages in general, I think they are all beautiful. Each language has its own particular way of conveying different meanings; each offers a variety of possibilites. It is a shame that so many people are so careless. Both my Spanish and my English are good, and I wish they were even better. You can always enlarge your vocabulary, learn new expressions, etc., even in your first language. That would surely lead to more effective communication, but how can it happen as long as the poeple who decide on the form of that you'll read in a newspaper or a magazine, for example, have no idea how to use the language correctly? There are also language teachers who should be doing something different for a living. It is impossible to teach anyone what is correct or appropriate when you make gross mistakes yourself.

Miriam

Sircnay · Answer

Yeah, the problem with "I'll go ask [insert person here] who is a [insert occupation here]." is that just because you have a job as that, doesn't mean you're an expert.

Example: I'm a very VERY knowledgeable mechanical person. Especially when it comes to cars. I can rip apart an engine and put it back together within a day. It's not my job, it's my hobby. But I lack the tools that come with it being a job so sometimes I must go to people who own shops. Now 90% of the time when I go shopping around for something as simple as an exhaust shop, those guys are just the lamest and most ignorant people ever. Would you go ask them about how backpressure affects a turbine spinning at somewhere around 150,000rpms and if the slightest thing went wrong the blades could literally break through the exhaust and compressor housing and fly through the firewall and decapitate you? I don't think so.

Editing newspapers.

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