I’ve taken in stride the loss of three Heralds per week, figuring quality is more important than quantity in challenging times. Even the recent printing of a story containing a dummy headline brought a smile to my face, as I imagined the responsible copy editor cringing for failing to catch it before it went to press.
But now we regularly see Herald articles that contain spelling errors, duplicate words, subject/verb agreement issues, and other problems our grade school English teachers labored so diligently to expunge from our writing.
Saturday’s Herald contained a headline, “Everyone gets rich with Mega Millions – except you,” that directly contradicted the Washington Post article’s concluding sentences: “So someone is getting rich off the lottery. It just probably won’t be you.” Everyone getting rich and someone getting rich turn out to be very different things!
Today’s Herald contained an AP article on Colorado River basin snowpack levels with the subhead, “Measuring 20 percent of normal,” that directly contradicts the article’s very first sentence: “Rocky Mountains snowpack that feeds Colorado River water supplies was 20 percent below average in December ...” Twenty percent less than average is a bummer, but 80 percent less than average is a crisis, no?
Who’s minding the store there, gang? Please give your copy a double-check before going to press, and your readers another good reason to pay $135 a year for our local paper of record.
Google News may be free, but it’s not edited – yet.
Chris Caldwell
Durango
