theDeath of Journalism & Improper Use of the King's English

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

If the out-and-out bias in the media these days isn't bad enough, now the English language, including proper word usage is, apparently, no longer important.

I found this gem in an Associated Press article about the plane crash in the Hudson River, in a story that has a byline by Larry Neumeister and David B. Caruso, posted on http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090118/ap_on_re_us/plane_splashdown.

"The most vulnerable part of the engine is the fan, which can be bent or smashed by an ingested bird. Pieces of busted blade then rip through the rest of the engine like shrapnel."

I've never seen a jet engine wearing a bra, have you? I suppose, that in order to cause this much damage, it had to be big busted.

These two jokers should be ashamed of themselves, but not half as much as the editor who let this piece get out.

(Note: "Bust" used in the sense of the verb, "to break," is not, IMHO, proper word usage. Bust has been used as regional slang for "break" but is not even close to proper usage in this passage. Some dictionary writers have surrendered and added it into their pages, but I still remember the lessons from Miss Reinke, who drilled into us during 6th grade English, that "bust" is not a verb!)

Feel free to add other examples of bad journalism to this thread - dumb headlines, grammatical errors, juxtaposition, spelling errors that cause confusion, and the like. I bet we can keep this going for a long time with lots of daily examples of poor English usage in the media.

 

[pamperedlinda]

......Feel free to add other examples of bad journalism to this thread - dumb headlines, grammatical errors, juxtaposition, spelling errors that cause confusion, and the like. I bet we can keep this going for a long time with lots of daily examples of poor English usage in the media.

It's not professional journalism - but there's a ton of bad grammar and spelling right here on CS....(IMO, it's gotten much worse lately too) there's one poster that's so bad I don't even open up threads stared by that ID anymore. I'm not talking about the occasional transposition of letters or words spelled incorrectly either (we all do that).

I know what you mean though, I used to work for an edior and did all of the pre-edits for her. That pretty much ruined any pleasure reading for me. I can hardly read without editing any more

 

[ChefBeckyD]

It's not professional journalism - but there's a ton of bad grammar and spelling right here on CS....(IMO, it's gotten much worse lately too) there's one poster that's so bad I don't even open up threads stared started by that ID anymore. I'm not talking about the occasional transposition of letters or words spelled incorrectly either (we all do that).

I know what you mean though, I used to work for an edior editor and did all of the pre-edits for her. That pretty much ruined any pleasure reading for me. I can hardly read without editing any more

I can hardly read w/o editing either!

Love ya Girlfriend!

And I am in complete agreement with both of you - and I also don't open threads anymore started by some posters because of the complete lack or regard for spelling and grammar.
Some don't care though - and we will probably be torn apart for this thread!

 

[legacypc46]

I cringe whenever I read biased news (hard to avoid these days), poor grammar (errors due to fast typing aside), or thoughts expressed to the lowest denominator.:grumpy:

 

[pamperedlinda]

I can hardly read w/o editing either!

Love ya Girlfriend!

And I am in complete agreement with both of you - and I also don't open threads anymore started by some posters because of the complete lack or regard for spelling and grammar.
Some don't care though - and we will probably be torn apart for this thread!

See - that's why I included this part "I'm not talking about the occasional transposition of letters or words spelled incorrectly either (we all do that)." Or, as a former secretary once told me...."that's not a mispelled word - that's a typo" LMAO!!

 

[susanr613]

If you want some good laughs about poor grammar and spelling, read Eats Shoots and Leaves, but Lynn Truss. She is British, and does a great job of skewering (or perhaps busting?) spelling and grammar errors.

The error that raises my blood pressure is the improper use of 's for plural instead of possessive.

As for posters here who have a poor command of grammar and spelling...well I try to overlook it. Content is more important than presentation to me, on this board.

 

[janetupnorth]

I used to have perfect spelling and grammar. I have found though, that with little kids learning they have sucked my brain cells and I make mistakes so often! It is usually using the wrong form of a word...two for too, etc.Since being online a lot, I also use ellipses and interrobangs all the time now. I wonder what happened to cause that?!But I personally try not to use BLATANT bad spelling and grammar.I have to admit that it is hard to read and help someone who wants help from us for their business, yet can't even form a complete sentence without somewhat decent grammar and spelling. I try not to think negatively about things, but it makes you wonder if a business with customer service is really for them. We can't expect customers to understand us if we cannot communicate...or anyone for that matter. I like Susan try to overlook it and help, but sometimes it does get really bad....just my opinion, your mileage may vary... (to steal from KG)

 

[pampchefsarah]

Well, if we can just post our grammar pet peeves, mine are:

"I hate to loose friends over this." Yes, loose friends are a problem all over the world.

I don't read enough news stories to contribute much to this thread, but I'm sure I'll be able to find something once in awhile.

 

[janetupnorth]

I'm afraid with the internet, chat and texting, it will only get worse!I mean, who would have thought texting and googled would be actual words?!

 

[babyicebean]

Sorry to tell you this but it's the QUEENS english as we have a female monarch in the UK.

 

[sklay723]

I'm afraid with the internet, chat and texting, it will only get worse!

I mean, who would have thought texting and googled would be actual words?!

My DH has a sister who will be 16 in March and a brother who just turned 17 in September. They are REALLY big into texting, and can't figure out why they are borderline failing English. Hmm. Let me think...because texting eliminates the need to SPEAK LIKE A HUMAN BEING.

My favorite part is that after dealing with reading the stuff they write, I go on my Facebook page and get messages from GROWN ADULTS who like to write in ways very similar to how you would text...all abbreviations and letters instead of words. "RU going 2B home 2nite?" I guess it would be insulting to this particular person for me to call her and tell her not to bother leaving me messages if she can't do so in plain English. It's not like typing the REAL words is going to take that much more time!!!

 

[Jessamary]

I was a newspaper reporter for many years, and KG, things like that bother me! I LOVE "Headlines" on Jay Leno. I've even seen some from around here!

By the way, when you see a funny headline (like the ironic kind you'd see on Leno) or a funny police report, I'd say about nine times out of ten, the reporter did it on purpose. Reporters get bored easily. (My favorite thing was by far doing the police reports. I'd go into the PD every day to take them and paraphrase them. The weirder, the better!)

 

[kaiser]

I have Aphasia after a bleeding in the brain, which is the inability to speak. I know now that Rehabilitation is it key which I am in the middle of. I have to communicate with Juergen (my husband), Jerry, Andreea and Sandi G as well as doctors, nurses, in Kaiserslautern, etc. This sentence took me a while with help, so forgive my English. It used to be better. When I have to write alone I usually use single words. A hint, free your mind.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Sorry to tell you this but it's the QUEENS english as we have a female monarch in the UK.

I sincerely apologize for misstating about the QUEEN'S English.

Of course, we're two countries separated by a common language, because the Queen's version is full of colourful spellings and terms that leave some of us in the colonies scratching our heads.

When I drive Sonja, our 1929 Ford, I first check under the hood, make sure the battery cable is attached to the positive ground, wash the windshield, put a tool kit in the trunk and make sure there isn't any stray wildlife under the fenders.

When I drive Belle, our 1961 Triumph TR-3A, I first check under the bonnet, make sure the battery cable is attached to the negative earth, wash the windscreen, put a tool kit in the boot and make sure there isn't any stray wildlife under the mudguards.

 

[janetupnorth]

I have Aphasia after a bleeding in the brain, which is the inability to speak. I know now that Rehabilitation is it key which I am in the middle of. I have to communicate with Juergen (my husband), Jerry, Andreea and Sandi G as well as doctors, nurses, in Kaiserslautern, etc. This sentence took me a while with help, so forgive my English. It used to be better. When I have to write alone I usually use single words. A hint, free your mind.

Your English and typing with medical issues is a MILLION times better than many.

I can usually tell who has medical issues or MS, it is apparent in their typing that it is a specific issue, not a lack of learning/understanding. The lazy spellers are much more apparent! Some just get irritated by those too lazy to work on things. You are working hard to relearn what you already knew.

Good luck with your rehab...you seem to be doing well!

 

[rennea]

English is also a second language to a lot of people on this board. Please keep this in mind when reading some posts.

 

[rennea]

I sincerely apologize for misstating about the QUEEN'S English.

Of course, we're two countries separated by a common language, because the Queen's version is full of colourful spellings and terms that leave some of us in the colonies scratching our heads.

When I drive Sonja, our 1929 Ford, I first check under the hood, make sure the battery cable is attached to the positive ground, wash the windshield, put a tool kit in the trunk and make sure there isn't any stray wildlife under the fenders.

When I drive Belle, our 1961 Triumph TR-3A, I first check under the bonnet, make sure the battery cable is attached to the negative earth, wash the windscreen, put a tool kit in the boot and make sure there isn't any stray wildlife under the mudguards.

Very good KG.:thumbup:

 

[pcchefjane]

I have Aphasia after a bleeding in the brain, which is the inability to speak. I know now that Rehabilitation is it key which I am in the middle of. I have to communicate with Juergen (my husband), Jerry, Andreea and Sandi G as well as doctors, nurses, in Kaiserslautern, etc. This sentence took me a while with help, so forgive my English. It used to be better. When I have to write alone I usually use single words. A hint, free your mind.

I hope we didn't offend you in any way. Some people just don't seem to care when they post if they use proper grammar or whatever. As Janet says, you do better than some here. Good luck in your rehab. How long have you been a PC Consultant?

 

[Kitchen Diva]

I have a hard time reading posts that seem to be 4 or 5 paragraphs grouped into one long section, with no spacing, indentations, or breaks. It hurts my eyes.

I still have trouble with 's's at times and even effect and affect. I am however very capable of using they're, their and there correctly all the time, and it drives me nuts when people use them wrong.

However, knowing that I'm not perfect, I overlook things like that. But the posters who don't put spaces between paragraphs are hard on my eyes, and there are 2 people who's posts are to the point where they don't make sense because of misused words, misspellings, and grammatical issues. I can't read their posts at all.

I have a lot to learn on how to improve my grammar, punctuation and spelling. I'm open to kind correction.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

English is also a second language to a lot of people on this board. Please keep this in mind when reading some posts.

Recall that I started this thread about people who are paid to use the language correctly.

I don't think anyone means to pick on those who use American English as a second language, eh?

(What? A thread here might get hijacked? Well, how 'bout dem Cardinals?)

 

[rennea]

Sorry I don't understand American English, only Canadian English, eh!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I don't understand American English most of the time.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Oh KG .... you KNOW I could not overlook this thread ... and while I, too, cringe when I see any mistake in written form (I'm reading a lot of books right now and the editor in me wants to put in commas all over the place) you know I cannot resist the opportunity to try to get you to sympathize with our profession.

Two of my collegues lost their jobs this week and only by the grace of God am I still employed in this field ... so this topic is more sensative than usual for me.

Not all of us have our work in the public eye but still fewer have our mistakes out there for all the world to see. I know many of us have mistakenly left the l out of public or stated that "prayer and medication" would take place ....

Check out this video to see the challenges of our profession:

YouTube - God Rest Ye Weary Journalists

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Recall that I started this thread about people who are paid to use the language correctly.

If it's any comfort, trust me when I say we are not paid WELL. I am supporting a household on the equivalent of 2 people on minimum wage ... and that's after a decade and a half in the same job.

 

[pamperedlinda]

English is also a second language to a lot of people on this board. Please keep this in mind when reading some posts.

That's not what I was referring to.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Oh KG .... you KNOW I could not overlook this thread ... and while I, too, cringe when I see any mistake in written form (I'm reading a lot of books right now and the editor in me wants to put in commas all over the place) you know I cannot resist the opportunity to try to get you to sympathize with our profession.Two of my collegues lost their jobs this week and only by the grace of God am I still employed in this field ... so this topic is more sensative than usual for me.Not all of us have our work in the public eye but still fewer have our mistakes out there for all the world to see. I know many of us have mistakenly left the l out of public or stated that "prayer and medication" would take place ....Check out this video to see the challenges of our profession:YouTube - God Rest Ye Weary Journalists

Empathize, yes. Sympathize, no. In the rush to get to air and now, with the dead tree editions of newspapers going the way of the passenger pigeon, the rush to get to the Internet, care in usage appears to have gone away. I understand, sometimes, the daily update looks great until I actually see it published. Oops. Look how often the update has the little tag on the bottom that says, "Last edited by TKG at 12:07 AM" or something like it. Of course, that also shows that I go fix it, a luxury the Internet affords that newsprint does not until the next edition.I also understand those who work for the Podunk Pioneer-Press or the Open Overshoe Observer are not expected to be of the same caliber of those who work at the New York Times. Sadly, many of those folks prove on a daily basis that they're more deserving that the ones who are in the big time. Speaking of the "big time," the first post was about two guys who work for the Associated Press, and they're supposed to be the very elite in your field. Maybe you should be sending your clippings to the AP.

If it's any comfort, trust me when I say we are not paid WELL. I am supporting a household on the equivalent of 2 people on minimum wage ... and that's after a decade and a half in the same job.

I get paid for crap for the job I have right now, but my boss expects me to perform the same as my former boss did, where I was much better paid for pretty much the same work I'm doing now. As annoying as that is, I have a job which is more than a lot of people can say right now. It'll have to do until I find something better.

 

[kaiser]

janetunorth: rehab it a b***t

 

[kaiser]

pcchefjane: i've at pc Consultant 460568. 3 have a on.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

janetunorth: rehab it a b***t

pcchefjane: i've at pc Consultant 460568. 3 have a on.

Did I miss something?

 

[Kathy's_Kitchen]

Did I miss something?

She is answering their questions from a few posts back.

 

[chefann]

A couple of my favorite websites are the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks (yes, the quotes are part of the title), and Crummy Church Signs. They both feature manglings of the language, often unintentional. Although many are also produced by amateurs. DH and I have our "around the house" English, which frequently uses intentional mispronunciations and misusage, along with quotes from our favorite TV shows and movies. But neither of us would use that in a formal situation.

 

[susanr613]

Good point KG. Let's try not to let this thread turn into a rant against our own.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Did I miss something?

Yes:

I have Aphasia after a bleeding in the brain, which is the inability to speak. I know now that Rehabilitation is it key which I am in the middle of. I have to communicate with Juergen (my husband), Jerry, Andreea and Sandi G as well as doctors, nurses, in Kaiserslautern, etc. This sentence took me a while with help, so forgive my English. It used to be better. When I have to write alone I usually use single words. A hint, free your mind.

janetunorth: rehab it a b***t

pcchefjane: i've at pc Consultant 460568. 3 have a on.

Bless your heart, kasier, welcome to our little nuthouse! We are equal opportunity - we go after everybody. We are like family - we beat up each other but look out if someone else comes after one of us!

 

[janetupnorth]

Did I miss something?

Yes, I'm pretty sure she was expressing how bad rehab is for her.My husband's cousin became a paraplegic a few years back after a fall. Not the same as you but very tough. His wife took his girls and left him and life has been a struggle. It is quite a mental, physical, and emotional task to deal with that.Hang in there kaiser...sounds like you have a great family supporting you!

 

[pamperedlinda]

.....Hang in there kreaser.......

She's "kaiser" You have your people mixed-up Janet! kreaser is someone else.

 

[Crystal Patton]

KG - I'm soo with you (don't you just hate when people add 'o's to the word so), we may pick on each other (Hey, we all kind-of look like noses) but when someone else does we jump all over them. (THEY can't say we look like noses!)

 

[ChefJWarren]

I have been watching The Weather Channel more lately because of the cold weather. I kept seeing "Artic Blast or Artic Weather" and it kept making me cringe! I thought that maybe I was just mistaken to think that it should be "arctic". My aunt assured me it was correct to refer to cold weather as "artic". Well, I finally couldn't take it anymore and looked it up. There is no such word as "artic"!!! This whole time (weeks) The Weather Channel has been using incorrect spelling. Has nobody told them?? Is there something I don't know?? I even did a site search and found countless headlines and articles on TWC to be incorrect. I did send them an email. Sorry, can't help it. I'm very anal about spelling!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

It's all due to global warming. They're so convinced that the polar ice cap is melting that they melted the C right out of arctic.

 

[janetupnorth]

She's "kaiser" You have your people mixed-up Janet! kreaser is someone else.

Fixed it...that's what I get for typing, cooking dinner, watching a movie and listening to kids at the same time!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Not to mention you should be listening to the conference championship games on the radio.

 

[Stampaholic1961]

Sorry to tell you this but it's the QUEENS english as we have a female monarch in the UK.

I had never heard the term Queen's English so I went & looked it up. Here is a link to a whole page about it! http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~lsp/QueensEnglish.html

 

[susanr613]

good for you kaiser! my great aunt worked through aphasia after a stroke (at the age of 90). she expressed frustration that the words were in her head but hard to get out. after rehab, she was able to regain pretty much all of her wit and expressiveness in writing and in speech.

keep at it and we will do our best to follow -

 

[chefann]

This was just posted on a blog I read occasionally. It's the text of a note to copy editors that an author attached to the first draft of a manuscript.

Note for copy editors –
Just some notes to help guide you and alert you to some of the horrific liberties I take with the English language
The [[text like this]] is formatting instructions, not me having some sort of conniption. It’s text that should be rendered in a fashion that makes it obvious that it’s a later comment on the previous post.
I’m particularly poor at getting lying/laying right, sorry about that. Normally I write myself around using these words but I may have missed a few.
Also ‘was’ and ‘were’.
And ‘which’ and ‘that’. I wish I’d paid attention in school.
I like hyphens, en-dash or em-dash, I can’t seem to get enough of them – if possible I’d like them left in as they are part of my ‘voice’ even though I know that it’s not necessarily decent grammar.
I also like ellipsis… (Which I type as three full stops, Word may have changed them into the correct character – I have no idea).
Commas followed by propositions, but sometimes I can’t help myself.
I’ve probably missed a few chances to press my semi-colon button on the keyboard. I like semi-colons but I’m a bit daft about when to use them.
I try to avoid jargon, but sometimes I can’t help myself. If you want to change EMT to E.M.T. go ahead but ORCON isn’t an acronym and so should remain as it is.
Keep an eye out for ‘ and “ I’ve possibly mixed them up – sorry. I’m also a terror for missing or adding incorrect possessive apostrophes, blame my comprehensive school education.
I use newlines and double newlines for timing, I don’t know if layout is part of your purview but some of these double newlines are intended – please bear this in mind if you change some of them (and no doubt some of them are in there by mistake)
Thank you very much for putting yourself through the trauma of trying to beat this manuscript into shape, it’s very much appreciated.

You can find the original http://randomreality.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2009/1/19/4062288.html.

This writer isn't a professional - he's an EMT/RN who blogs about his on the job experiences and has had material from the blog published. But he at least worries about his grammar, even if he leaves it for someone else to clean up. All too often, people don't even bother.

 

[raebates]

We regularly refer to our local paper as The Peru Daily Attempt. The Furry Guy will never win any prizes for proper grammar, but even he finds the frequent errors in the newspaper irritating. Spellcheck is no substitute for proper proofreading and editing. Cute story: I have a dear friend who is a former English teacher. Sloppy grammar and spelling are like fingernails on a chalkboard to her. She has done some editing of a small weekly paper in her area, as well as writing a column of hints and tips. Her editing duties were absorbed by a new general editor. She, of course, reads over her own column before submission, but trusted the editor to do a final read. Imagine her surprise when her dieting suggestion to "pop a breath mint" when you finish a meal was published as "poop a breath mint."

 

[wadesgirl]

A couple of my favorite websites are the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks (yes, the quotes are part of the title), and Crummy Church Signs. They both feature manglings of the language, often unintentional. Although many are also produced by amateurs.

DH and I have our "around the house" English, which frequently uses intentional mispronunciations and misusage, along with quotes from our favorite TV shows and movies. But neither of us would use that in a formal situation.

DH and I have our own language at home! It usually comes down to using only a couple letters out of a word! It's so funny when we accidently use it around "normal" people!

We regularly refer to our local paper as The Peru Daily Attempt. The Furry Guy will never win any prizes for proper grammar, but even he finds the frequent errors in the newspaper irritating. Spellcheck is no substitute for proper proofreading and editing.

Cute story: I have a dear friend who is a former English teacher. Sloppy grammar and spelling are like fingernails on a chalkboard to her. She has done some editing of a small weekly paper in her area, as well as writing a column of hints and tips. Her editing duties were absorbed by a new general editor. She, of course, reads over her own column before submission, but trusted the editor to do a final read. Imagine her surprise when her dieting suggestion to "pop a breath mint" when you finish a meal was published as "poop a breath mint."

I used to work for several newspapers and part of it was copy editing. While our journalists were pretty good with their grammar I still catch other newspapers and such with really bad grammar! And don't get me started on page layout!

And now that I work for a t-shirt printing company, I am constantly looking closely at every t-shirt I see. Some of the stuff we get from Merrill would have been caught by our quality control people and never sent out the door.

 

[raebates]

It's not a grammar issue, but one of my favorite things that The Peru Daily Attempt does is to create headlines that have very little relevance to the story. They are also bad about continuing a story with one title but giving it another in the continuation So, at the end of a paragraph you'll see "(see Cars on page 3)." When you turn to page 3, you'll search in vain for Cars. You will, however, find the continuation of the story under the heading Deals. That happens about once a week in our newspaper. Chefann clued me in on the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. I love that site. It's a great way to get a quick giggle.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Rae, your post is actually why I started the thread. (Not that a thread ever morphs around here.) What's even worse, and the Milwaukee Jourtinel does this, they break a story, send you to page 7, and after a half an hour of searching you finally realize that jump is not only missing from page 7, it's missing from the paper entirely.

 

[raebates]

Our paper does that at least once a month. The Furry Guy's biggest complaint is that comic strips are often repeated. If you really want to rile The Furry Guy, mess with his comics. LOL!Two recent errors were hysterical. One day they included the Community Calendar from the day before. The entire page, from the date at the top to the last line at the bottom was a page from the previous day's edition. More recently they had three men pictured on the front page. Mind you, this is the front page we're talking about. Each picture was labeled with the man's name below the photo. The third man's name was apparently Person's Name Here. I told The Furry Guy we should have saved that one to show when we're trying to explain how far below standard our paper has fallen.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

A couple of my favorite websites are the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks (yes, the quotes are part of the title), and Crummy Church Signs. They both feature manglings of the language, often unintentional. Although many are also produced by amateurs.

DH and I have our "around the house" English, which frequently uses intentional mispronunciations and misusage, along with quotes from our favorite TV shows and movies. But neither of us would use that in a formal situation.

This one isn't on any of your websites because I took it near my home. (It's in the humor thread, too.)

 

[Kitchen Diva]

This was just posted on a blog I read occasionally. It's the text of a note to copy editors that an author attached to the first draft of a manuscript.



You can find the original http://randomreality.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2009/1/19/4062288.html.

This writer isn't a professional - he's an EMT/RN who blogs about his on the job experiences and has had material from the blog published. But he at least worries about his grammar, even if he leaves it for someone else to clean up. All too often, people don't even bother.

Oh my gosh! This guy must be my long lost twin! I have most of those issues...!?!?!-:;!