Can you imagine a Reuters copy editor not knowing the difference between "it's" and "its"?

Last evening I spotted a typo in a caption for a picture accompanying a story on the Reuters website. So I scrolled down to the "Corrections" tab and wrote this message:

Rd Prabhu, Oct 12, 10:02 PM SGT:

The Amazon Echo, a voice-controlled virtual assistant, is seen at it's product launch for Britain and Germany in London, Britain, September 14, 2016. REUTER/Peter Hobson

----

That is the caption for a photograph accompanying a Reuters story about Amazon's new music service. "...it's product launch"? That should be "...its product launch".

Shortly afterwards I received this automated response:

Ticket #78452: Mistake in caption

Hello, Thank you for contacting Reuters Online Support. Your request (#78452) has been received, and is being reviewed by our support staff. To view responses to Frequently Asked Questions, visit our Knowledge Base.[link Knowledge Base tohttp://reuters.zendesk.com/forums ] We will get back to you as soon as possible. Kind regards, The Reuters.com Team

And when I took a look at the story again, the error had been corrected:

Is it any wonder that a Google search for "its vs it's" throws up more than 13 million results?

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Why American writer Dinty Moore is all praise for Indian speakers and writers of English

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Why American writer Dinty Moore is all praise for Indian speakers and writers of English

I have been reading an interesting and highly original book (pictured) by author, editor, and writing coach Dinty Moore.

Moore writes with humour and with intelligence. Here's the first paragraph from the introduction:

"Perhaps you are standing in the bookstore, scanning this introductory chapter, wondering just what sort of book you have in hand. You are a good-looking person whose minor flaws seem to only accentuate your considerable charm. You are intelligent. And immune to flattery."

So yes, Moore writes with humour and with intelligence. But we all make mistakes and I thought Moore made one on Page 18 in a four-page essay dedicated to teaching readers how to use an "em dash". So I wrote an e-mail to him on Sunday night.

Subject: A question regarding the em dash as used in your book, "Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy"

Hello Dinty,

This is Ramesh Prabhu in Bangalore, India.

I am a good-looking person whose minor flaws seem to only accentuate my considerable charm. I am intelligent. And immune to flattery.

In other words, I have bought a copy of your book.

Now that I have got that out of the way, let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

On Page 18 of your book, in the essay regarding Cheryl Strayed's letter to you about her love affair with the em dash, you give us this example of how to use this particular punctuation mark:

I have three goals for my day—measure an "n" and an "m", memorize the width of the two letters, and look up "obsessive disorders" on Wikipedia.

My understanding is that a colon, not a dash (em or en) should be used to introduce a list. So don't you think you should have used a colon instead of the em dash in that sentence?

I have three goals for my day: measure an "n" and an "m", memorize the width of the two letters, and look up "obsessive disorders" on Wikipedia.

I am a journalist turned journalism professor. I have been teaching journalism since April 2003 at a media college in Bangalore. My students and I hope to hear from you soon.

Cheers,

Ramesh 

And here's Moore's reply: 

Subject: Re: A question regarding the em dash as used in your book, "Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy"

 

Ramesh

I think you are correct.  I also think that, in general, Indian speakers and writers of English are far more precise and correct than the British are nowadays.  And for sure, you are better at this than we Americans, who tend to be immensely sloppy, informal, and inconsistent. Thanks to you and your students for the correction.

Dinty

***

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An e-mail interaction with author Mardy Grothe —  It all depends on the telling, sure. But surely who does the telling matters?

 

In 8 minutes, a response from The New York Times to my e-mail pointing out a typo in a headline

At 7:47 p.m. today I sent this e-mail to Margaret Sullivan, the Public Editor of The New York Times:

SUBJECT: May I point out a punctuation mistake in a headline?

Dear Ms Sullivan,

This is Ramesh Prabhu in Bangalore.

I am a huge fan of The New York Times and many of my blog posts (I teach journalism at a local media college) are devoted to NYT articles and blog posts that I think will contribute to the understanding among my students and other followers of the better aspects of journalism. Here is a relevant post: What our newspapers can learn from The New York Times.

That was by way of background.

I am writing now because I have spotted a punctuation error in a headline for an article on O.C.D. by Jane E. Brody.

The headline reads

O.C.D, a Disorder That Cannot Be Ignored

Surely a period is needed after the "D" (and before the comma).

I attempted to bring this to the notice of the editors by commenting on the article this morning (about eight hours ago). But the headline has not been rectified yet.

I look forward to hearing your views on the subject.

Sincerely,

Ramesh Prabhu
Bangalore

*
At 7:55 p.m. I received this reply:

Dear Mr. Prabhu,

Thanks for taking the time to write. I've let the editors in charge of the blog know of the typo.

Best,

Jonah Bromwich

Office of the Public Editor

The New York Times

***

Is it any wonder I think The New York Times is one of the world's greatest newspapers?

THE HEADLINE THAT GOT MY GOAT.

• Learn more about the Public Editor's role and responsibilities: "Public Editor's Journal".

• ALSO  READ: "Mistakes that annoy readers".

• UPDATE (10:13 P.M.)

The headline typo is rectified. See below:

Apologies, Economist-style

Only in the Economist, which was first published in 1843 to take part in "a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress", will you find even the apologies to be brilliantly written.

Here's one from the August 18th-24th, 2012, issue:

CORRECTION: An article on drinking at work ("The boredom of boozeless business", August 11th) claimed that journalists at Bloomberg Businessweek could be disciplined for sipping a spritzer at work. This is not true. Sorry. We must have been drunk on the job.

And here's another from the April 7th-13th, 2012, issue:

CORRECTION: In our piece on California water last week, we claimed that a softball is four times the diameter of a tennis ball. In fact, it is only 50% bigger. Time we got out of our armchairs.

• Also read: "Apologising to readers".

• Also read: "Corporate role models: Mother Teresa and (gasp!) Lady Gaga".

Mistakes that annoy readers

Among other things:

I think my favourite correction from the past 12 months apologised for the paper praising a whisky as "a genuine classic which never fails to disappoint" — so wrong it looks right.

This excerpt from a column written by the Readers' Editor of the London Observer is just a sampler of what astute readers of the newspaper have pointed out in the past year. To find out what really annoys readers, go to "Observer readers feel passionately that we should always get the story right".

• As far as I know, The Hindu is the only newspaper in India that has a Readers' Editor.

• Also read: "Apologising to readers".

Apologising to readers

Journalists can make mistakes. They are not infallible. And when mistakes are made that are considered serious by newspapers, a correction is mandatory.

Here is Mint's policy on corrections and clarifications:

Mint welcomes comments, suggestions or complaints about errors.

Readers can alert the newsroom to any errors in the paper by emailing us, with your full name and address, to feedback@livemint.com.

It is our policy to promptly respond to all complaints.

Readers dissatisfied with the response or concerned about Mint’s journalistic integrity may write directly to the editor by sending an email to asktheeditor@ livemint.com

Mint’s journalistic Code of Conduct that governs our newsroom is available at www.livemint.com.

And here is the Corrections & Clarifications box from Mint's June 26 issue:

A FRONT PAGE APOLOGY IN ToI

Click here and go to the anchor item on Page 1 of the Sunday Times (Bangalore) e-paper of June 27.

THE FRONT PAGE APOLOGY IN THE TIMES OF INDIA, BANGALORE EDITION.

THE HINDU'S POLICY

It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page.

The Readers' Editor's office can be contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday);

Fax: +91-44-28552963;

E-mail: readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

Mail: Readers' Editor, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002, India.

All communication must carry the full postal address and telephone number.

No personal visits.

The Terms of Reference for the Readers' Editor are on www.thehindu.com.

And here are the corrections published on The Hindu's Op-Ed page of June 29:

Corrections and Clarifications

An entry in a graphic “Women at the helm” (“International” page, June 26, 2010) said “Philippines — Gloria Arroyo, President; Since 2004”, leading to a query. Ms. Arroyo is still the President. On June 9, 2010, the Congress of the Philippines proclaimed Benigno S. Aquino III as the President-elect of the Philippines. He will take the oath of office on June 30, 2010 as the fifteenth President of the Philippines, succeeding Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Abdolmalek Rigi was 31 years old. The second paragraph of “Behind Rigi's hanging” (Editorial, June 24, 2010) said he was 26.

The heading of a report “Worst has passed: UAE ruler” (“International) page, June 27, 2010) should have said “... Dubai ruler”. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who made the statement, is the Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, which is one of the seven Emirates.

The heading of a PTI report (June 27, 2010) was “Man shot at by kin of girl he was to wed”. It should have been “Man shot at by wife's kin”, as mentioned in the text.

The UID is a 16-digit number, and not a 12-digit one as mentioned in the first paragraph of a report “LIC to act as registrar for UID project” (“Business” page, June 10, 2010).

UPDATE (April 11, 2012): An apology to readers, Economist-style — CORRECTION: In our piece on California water last week, we claimed that a softball is four times the diameter of a tennis ball. In fact, it is only 50% bigger. Time we got out of our armchairs. — The Economist, April 7th-13th, 2012