Friday, February 27, 2009

Some happy news for a change

Who says the newspaper industry is dying? The University of Northern Colorado's campus paper, The Mirror, is celebrating its 90th birthday this weekend. Congratulations, Mirror!

Today's paper includes a history of the publication written by news editor Joshua Espinoza. Considering what's been happening with the news industry lately, I think these words are important to remember:
... the content and aesthetics of The Mirror have evolved and adapted with the times. The writing style has changed; the layout has changed; and the location has changed. But what has stayed consistent for the past nine decades is The Mirror's mission to inform, educate and entertain the community members University of Northern Colorado.
Later, Espinoza reminds us how important newspapers can be:
Having been an essential part of campus life since 1919, the publication has served as a barometer of student opinion on everything from routine occurrences like presidential elections and local politics, to the most memorable events in recent American history - including the Great Depression, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Act, the Columbine shootings and Sept. 11. The students of UNC have been able to view - as if through a metaphorical mirror - the ways in which these national milestones have personally affected them, for better or worse, through the peer-written commentary of The Mirror.
Thanks Josh, for reminding me why I love newspapers. And thanks to the Mirror staff members, past and present, for keeping the UNC community informed and entertained for 90 years.

Say it ain't so

Sad to say, Denver's first newspaper -- and the state's oldest business -- published its last edition today. Today's issue is a keeper, though. Full of great stories about and from the publication's storied past, as well as all of today's news. The front page features a goodbye to readers, framed by the first front page of the first edition, published April 23, 1859.

Just saw the photo on the Rocky's home page, and it's an empty newsroom. Makes me feel a little sick.

Here's an excerpt from the front-page goodbye:
To have reached this day, the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, just 55 days shy of its 150th birthday is painful. We will scatter. And all that will be left are the stories we have told, captured on microfilm or in digital archives, devices unimaginable in those first days. But what was present in the paper then and has remained to this day is a belief in this community and the people who make it what it has become and what it will be. We part in sorrow because we know so much lies ahead that will be worth telling, and we will not be there to do so.
Rest in peace, Rocky. May your spirit live on in journalists for generations to come.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Whom, I?

Many people have trouble figuring out whether it's proper to use "I" or "me" in certain grammatical situations. And according to an op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times, even presidents make the mistake of using "I" when they should be using "me." One reason the authors, Patricia T. O'Connor and Stewart Kellerman, offer for this error is what they call "hypercorrection:"
Then, why do so many scofflaws keep using “I” instead of “me”? Perhaps it’s because they were scolded as children for saying things like “Me want candy” instead of “I want candy,” so they began to think “I” was somehow more socially acceptable. Or maybe it’s because they were admonished against “it’s me.” Anybody who’s had “it is I” drummed into his head is likely to avoid “me” on principle, even when it’s right.
Another mistake along the same lines occurs when people write "whom" instead of "who." I think writers do this because they think using "whom" makes one appear more learned. Like when people use big words that they don't understand, just to impress the readers. Not that my students ever do that.

I don't mind it when I hear these mistakes in spoken language. We simply don't have enough time to edit ourselves when we talk. It's when you make mistakes like these in writing that brings out the crank in cranky editors like me. I'm sure many will disagree. I have a friend who is an English professor, and she cannot stand to hear "can I" when "may I" is preferred. I can take it or leave it. Does that mean someone will come along and take away my "grammar junkie" card?

Now don't get me wrong. I can't stand to hear people say things like "I seen that" and "It don't make no difference to me." Double-negatives also give me the willies. One has to draw the line somewhere.

What makes you cranky?

Friday, February 20, 2009

With a name like 'craigslist,' what do you expect?

Someone in my house has been printing out ads from craigslist. Either she' s looking to move, or she wants me to edit the ads. I hope it's the latter. Three of the four ads contained misspellings. I have a special prize for the author of the first ad, who threw in a second mistake for free.
"Heat included in Rent/Move in Speicial/ Avalible now..."
"OAKBROOK APARTMENTS: Unfirnished..."

"$500 Funished Studio Apartment ..."
I hope you're as appalled as I am.

So please, dear readers, if you're going to post something on the Internet, proofread it for goodness sake. And if you're not a born editor, ask a friend -- or an editing teacher -- to proof it for you.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Worth reading

I just finished "Black and White and Dead all Over" by John Darnton. What a read! It's a mystery that starts with the murder of one of the assistant managing editors at what appears to be a thinly veiled reference to The New York Times. What I love about this book are the details the author includes about how newsrooms used to be, and the longing the old timers seem to have for the "good old days." I remember hearing about those days at the Connecticut Post.
Cigarette butts hanging off desks, booze bottles stuffed inside drawers, reporters returning to the newsroom to file stories after their three-martini lunches. (No, wait, my bad. That last one happened several times when I worked there.)

This book has it all for old timers: the composing room, the pneumatic tubes, the typewriters. And can you believe the AME is found with an editor's spike rammed into his chest? If you know what an editor's spike is, you will love this book. If not, you might learn something.

One of the funniest tidbits Darnton uses is the fact that several of the "dinosaurs" -- journalists who've been there since the old days -- keep yellowed copies of what is considered the worst lead ever written at the paper. When work is slow, one of them will open a drawer and take it out and read it. Guffaws follow. Reminds me of the editor who, during a lull, used to yell across the newsroom, "Nixon just died!" At least he never did it on my deadline. Then there was the editor who used a line gauge (a fancy name for an editor's ruler) to open his soda can. (Hey, it makes sense. He never cut himself.) And then there was the story about the reporter who covered the Earthquake World Series in 1989. When the editor finally heard from said reporter after hours of wondering his fate, he asked for the story before asking how he was. How can you miss things like that?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

What's next? Thespacebetweenwords?

Government officials in Birmingham, England, have voted to ban apostrophes in road signs. According to an Associated Press story, the officials spent so much time during meetings trying to figure out which place names needed apostrophes, they couldn't get anything else done.

I love the wordplay used by the AP writer, Meera Silva:

LONDON – On the streets of Birmingham, the queen's English is now the queens English.

England's second-largest city has decided to drop apostrophes from all its street signs, saying they're confusing and old-fashioned.

But some purists are downright possessive about the punctuation mark.

I wouldn't say I'm possessive. Fanatical, maybe. But not possessive.