Editors, editors, editors!
At least they spelled Omicron right!
We will say it again: A suspect doesn’t shoot someone! A shooter does. When they catch John Doe, he is the man suspected of being the shooter. He’s the suspect. Not to mention that in this case it’s redundant. Just say a ranger was shot. Period. It’s not like you had a lot of options. Shot by a moose. Shot by an SUV. Shot by a rock. C’mon.
Journalists for whom English isn’t the first language should get a break. But if that’s the case here, that means this caption passed through several American editors before it ended up in our local newspaper with two big errors. Should be “A bouquet of flowers lies on the tomb of…”
Amy J Volkers
People who bet are bettors.
We’ll say it again: Editors shouldn’t make these mistakes. But because fewer people subscribe to, or advertise in, newspapers, they can’t afford as many editors. Want to see fewer goofs? Support your local newspaper! (You should anyway; it’s your only comprehensive source of local news!)
And we go to the video archives for Segment 7: More Lightning Bugs. https://youtu.be/y_fMjkAs1i4
Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong," features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police:” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we properly can credit you. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com
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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!