Editing, et al.

Who Cares How Old He Was?

July 06, 2010

My local paper reported this morning on the death of a cleric in Lebanon. He was 75, the headline said.

Unfortunately, the first paragraph said he was 74.

There’s only one explanation for the discrepancy, and it isn’t that there’s a dispute over what year this guy was born.

I’d call it sloppy editing, but what I fear happened is the absence of editing. Some overworked news desk flunky glanced at the story,slapped a headline on it and accidentally hit the "5" instead of the "4."

It happens.

But in this era of thin-to-the-point-of-translucent staffing, there was nobody to check it.

Newspaper staffing used to be based on the premise that nobody is perfect and that everything should be checked.

It's a sensible attitude; even if you are very skilled at what you do, in a fast-paced environment, anyone can make a mistake. When you are part of a team, you know that there are others who will check what you did, and you trust that they will find what you missed.

Sometimes the errors are just embarrassing, such as this one involving the wrong age. But they might also be libelous or offensive—convicting someone in print of a crime of which they've been accused, perhaps, or citing the wrong airline in the story of a crash.

The sad result of all this is that readers stop finding the paper a credible source; after all, if it can make this kind of dumb error, what else aren't they paying attention to?

And that’s a pity.

Where Nun Have Gone Before

June 15, 2010

Sister Carol Anne O'Marie died last year after an unusual combination career as a nun and a mystery writer.

A member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Los Angeles, she lived in the Bay Area, which is where she set her series, featuring San Francisco-based nun Sister Mary Helen.

I interviewed her twice, once in conjunction with the series, and once when she co-founded A Friendly Place, a shelter for homeless women in downtown Oakland.

They say to write about what you know, and Sister Carol Anne knew about a nun's life. That’s what made Sister Mary Helen such a lively and engaging character, at least for the first few books.

After a while [and there are 11 books in the series], it gets a little difficult to work a crime-solving nun into the plot. I began to wonder why anyone wanted attend the college where much of the series was set, as its homicide rate must have been off the charts.

The books were less successful in their depiction of lay characters, particularly the two detectives who kept trying to keep Sister Mary Helen on the sidelines. They simply did not talk like real people, much less cops, and I had to conclude that while the author might have learned the steps the police take at a crime scene, she didn’t know how they acted.

Still, the books provided an entertaining look at a segment of society we don't usually associate with murder mysteries.

Color me annoyed

May 21, 2010

I am not a true synesthete. Synesthesia is a neurological condition that creates sensory overload in some fashion. Its victims have an involuntary reaction to certain stimuli, such as color.

I don't think science recognizes my own peculiar offshoot: I react to grammatical errors the way I do to nails scraping on a blackboard. I wince when I see signs in store windows that announce “Its official!” or “We have it’s sequel!” Never mind the dependence on exclamation points; what makes my skin crawl is the missing, or wrongly used, apostrophe.

I have a similar, but less intense, reaction to writers who don't understand the concept of the collective noun. What's so hard to fathom? People in a group are "they;" the group itself is an "it." So: "The members are planning a bake sale," but "The group is planning a bake sale." It is a question of intent: are you talking about the individual members or the group as a whole?

On the radio today, the newscaster said, “Will the government of Sri Lanka change their policies?” And, predictably, I yelled at the radio, "its policies, its policies!!"

Perhaps somewhere there's a scientist interested in synesthesia looking for a research project. Since I don't expect people's grammar to improve anytime soon, which would eliminate my symptoms, I'd be right in line to volunteer as a test subject.

Oh, hush!

April 28, 2010

When did "shut up!" become a synonym for "amazing!" or "I don’t believe it"?

"Shut up" has long been a strong and rather hostile rebuke. I always encouraged my children to avoid it … there were plenty of other ways to express their occasional annoyance with each other.

Now you hear "shut up!" everywhere … on television, from groups at a restaurant or coffee shop, in stores.

And it's not just young people doing it. I'd probably shrug that off as teen slang, something they'd outgrow with any luck.

The saddest part of this is that if you confront the people doing this—if you said, "I find it offensive when you tell me to shut up"—they would be surprised, say you were overreacting and that they weren't actually telling you to be quiet.

So maybe this expression is in the process of morphing. It has taken on new meaning, and over time the old meaning will drop away. In the meantime, it’s irritating, and makes me want to muzzle the offending speakers.

Where no one who cares about language is willing to go

April 07, 2010

I'm going to have to stop watching Star Trek reruns.

Not because I'm tired of hearing Jean Luc Picard say "engage," but because the former science fiction cable channel has driven my inner editor to distraction.

First it renamed itself, a clear violation of the "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" rule. What was wrong with being the Sci Fi channel? It was short, punchy, easy to understand—in fact, a good brand.

So now it's become Syfy. Apparently, a non-word is better for branding, as it can distinguish itself from competitors.

I suppose you could call yourself "doofus" and it would distinguish you from your competitors, but why would you want to?

The other reason for the renaming was to minimize the association of science fiction with nerdy guys. As a non-nerdy guy myself, I just don't see it.

Despite being peeved, I sort of ignored the Syfy name until its new slogan began popping up on the screen. That would be "Imagine Greater."

Greater what? "Greater" is an adjective; it is lonely without a noun.

And what does it mean, anyway? Does this mean "imagine greatness?" "Imagine greater programs?" Personally, I lean toward "imagine that we know what we are doing."

Why has mangling the language replaced creativity and imagination?

Even Lt. Commander Data can't answer that one.

Chamber error

March 22, 2010

A local chamber of commerce issues a quarterly newsletter that illustrates both the lure and the problem with modern technology.

Easily available software makes it possible for the chamber, like other small groups, to publish its own journal without the expense of going to a professional printer. The down side: it has no editor. Or perhaps I should say that whoever functions as its editor lacks needed editorial skills.

Maybe the chamber wanted to save money by not hiring a professional eye, but the result is a newsletter marred by grammatical errors that detract from its professional air.

I’m sure I'm not the only person to read, “Her and her husband loved the area so much they …” and wonder how something so egregious made it into print.

Then there’s "'I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone,' Terri Ishmael, assistant vice principal said." A competent editor would have put a comma in after “principal.”

A story about journalism students’ involvement in the newsletter mentions a Journalism teacher … why would it be capitalized? The mention of journalism students is lower case. So I know that no one explained to the chamber officials the importance of a consistent style in producing a professional look.

Those were not the only errors, but the point is the same: It’s a pity a product intended to sell the city and its businesses shoots itself in the foot by cutting corners.

No free lunch

March 03, 2010

I was solicited in the mail recently by a burial society.

For the longest time, I stared at the envelope, which said, "Free Pre-Paid Cremation! Details Inside."

The details I wanted was for someone to explain to me how something that is paid for, such as cremation, is "free." As far as I know, "free" means you don’t pay. Nor do you "pre-pay."

Besides, with funeral stuff you pretty much have to pre-pay, since you won’t be in any condition to pay afterwards.

This is a variant of that other marketing ploy: "free gift." Join this, or buy that, and get a "free gift."

There is no such thing as a free gift. By definition, a gift is free. A gift is something freely given. If you have to pay for it, it’s not a gift.

It's discouraging when words don’t mean what they are supposed to mean, and it becomes harder to communicate when we don't use the same vocabulary.