Just the Facts, Ma’am

In my day job, fact-checking is paramount. You’ve gotta be a nit-picker if you want to make it there. So it makes me itchy when I find errors in published material, like a magazine.

If one particular mag’s astrologer wasn’t so spookily accurate, I’d stop buying it every week. More and more howlers are slipping through. Last issue, there was the headline “Unchartered waters” instead of “uncharted” and they’d spelled The Who‘s Pete Townshend’s name without an “H”. They’re using hyphens where they shouldn’t (“high-school student”) and solidifying compounds where a hyphen is vital for clarity (“topranking”). I know – it’s a travesty.

In his blog, Style & Substance, the Wall Street Journal‘s Paul Martin challenges readers to spot the paper’s daily flubs. I could spend hours of my two-week holiday here, but I really should get a life.

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4 thoughts on “Just the Facts, Ma’am

  1. Vanessa,You are so write. I sea the rong spelling all the thyme.But seriously – I am the first to admit that I am grammatically challenged – thought I try my hardest to go back and fix my errors. But my bread and butter is not built on words. This is their job. I also see it in newscasts where words a re used in the wrong context or are pronounced incorrectly. It really annoys me, as these people are supposed to be professionals.Getting a life – what’s that – I haven’t known what a life is since I started writing. Okay – back to those darn edits.

  2. EEEER! Vanessa, maybe this is a spooky scary post (even though it’s not All Hallows Eve yet and even though we upside down people who live in the sthn hem. don’t even have it when the other half of the world does but hey..)because I am the queen of picking up irritating grammar and spelling etc.. errors in magazines, newspapers and (gawd help us)published tomes of all descriptions.WHERE ARE THE EDITORS? I squeal, and my family cover their ears and say “Here she goes again.” Totally in agreeance (Yes I made that word up but I feel it’s warranted..)with you sistah.All the best, Elle

  3. Hello, Elle! Can’t wait for your series debut!And another thing… In that same issue, they wrote “gaff” when they meant “gaffe.” How ironic! (I’m so picky.)

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