R.I.P., copy-editors and fact-checkers…
To begin this morning, a blast from the past, by way of saying Happy Mother’s Day! Now to more serious matters…
It’s only natural that, as traditional news organizations shutter bureaus and slash staff, “anomalies” will begin to creep into their reportage– misleading lay-outs, confusing grammar and syntax, outright mistakes… Consider for example coverage of the big story of May 1…
The Boston Globe‘s story about Osama bin Laden’s death tripped on a homophone: “according to Islamic tradition, his body was washed, wrapped in a white shroud, and given burial rights”; while the Daily Telegraph may have confused readers about the objectives of the attack: “Mr Panetta also told the network that the US Navy Seals made the final decision to kill bin Laden rather than the President.”
(Perhaps, in the heat of the moment, the Seals muddled “Osama” with “Obama”, as some other news outlets did.)
These examples, and others, at World Wide Words. And for a running account of the erosion underway, follow @themediaisdying. (More amusing headlines here.)
As we return to perfecting our Flipboard formats, we might recall that it was on this date in 1951, in New York City, that Hart, Shaffner, and Marx introduced a new sartorial technology: the first men’s suit made with polyester fiber– a blend of 55% Dacron and 45% worsted wool. (It was another decade before the introduction of the leisure suit, and yet another before it became a cultural landmark.)
