stupid – James daSilva

USA Network and "White Collar" only vaguely know how to spell "judgment"

USA Network is running promos for the season finale of “White Collar.” Now, I neither watch nor have an opinion on that show, and the idea of “season finale” has been so diluted by USA Network’s splitting up of seasons into parts that, for all I know, this could be the seventh or eighth finaleContinue reading “USA Network and "White Collar" only vaguely know how to spell "judgment"”

United Concordia doesn’t understand the phrase "open season"

I take the Metro to work each day in Washington, D.C., and as I ascend toward ground level at the Verizon Center, I’ve been passing an advertisement for United Concordia about the savings you can get from its dental plans. Presumably, it’s also open-enrollment season. Thus, you’d think, there could be a way to useContinue reading “United Concordia doesn’t understand the phrase "open season"”

For every editor’s best efforts, there’s an Iran saying "2012" spells "Zion"

“Using the word Zion in the logo of 2012 Olympic Games is a disgracing action and against Olympic’s valuable mottos.” ~ the unhinged state that is Iran So, the London people hosting the 2012 Olympic Games have come up with a logo, whose main feature is being centered almost entirely on the fact that it’sContinue reading “For every editor’s best efforts, there’s an Iran saying "2012" spells "Zion"”

Let it never be said the New York Times isn’t hip

Credit: John Steven Fernandez From the Feb. 2 print edition of the Times, to begin an article about new restaurant uses for pepperoni: ACROSS the United States, artisanal pizza joints are opening faster than Natalie Portman movies. Cue the eye-roll. Even after I consider by March, she’ll have had three films released since Dec. 1Continue reading “Let it never be said the New York Times isn’t hip”

Necrophilia-inducing typos and other editing links: A roundup

Yeah, that headline had better bring results, or I’m going to be upset. Anyways, what’s happening in the world of copy editing, editing and journalism at large: Word Grrls notes how one missing letter on a book-seller’s site goes from the sassy, if cliche, “Dead Sexy” to the disturbingly niche “Dead Sex.” Unless that meansContinue reading “Necrophilia-inducing typos and other editing links: A roundup”

When editors must say, "You don’t know what you’re talking about"

My professional copy-editing work includes a daily publication looking, through brief summaries, at the nuclear energy industry. Editorials and guest columns on the idea of nuclear energy are a major part of industry news because, well, there hasn’t been a new nuclear plant built in a while. Often, those op-eds are by experts in theContinue reading “When editors must say, "You don’t know what you’re talking about"”

3 snapshots of news without editing

A copy desk being reduced or eliminated brings many signs of lower quality, and reporters, too, suffer when their numbers are diminished and they’re forced to “do more with less.” There are two categories of fear for journalists: The big picture, the fear that news isn’t being covered, isn’t being covered well or in enoughContinue reading “3 snapshots of news without editing”

Have you messed up today? 2 items to help you feel better

We all have those days — editors and reporters simply have the mistakes immortalized more easily. Instead of getting too down, have a laugh at these examples of journalism that, if nothing else, put your goof-up into perspective: FarkFunnyOrDie’s (see? an error of my own) collection of the funniest police blotters. Not all are newspaperContinue reading “Have you messed up today? 2 items to help you feel better”

If journalists don’t pay attention, who will?

Journalists are rightly called watchdogs of government, the rich and the powerful. They needn’t be the only source of investigative efforts, but their profession lends itself to the task. However, with slashed budgets and an emphasis on providing what the reader wants (or, more often, what we think the reader wants), much of the watchdogContinue reading “If journalists don’t pay attention, who will?”