Sunday, October 04, 2009

And as long as I'm being grumpy

The New Yorker, October 5 issue, page 25 (“The Talk of the Town”). Four-count-‘em-four editing errors on a single page. Possibly a new record for the magazine that used to pride themselves on the excellence of their copyediting and fact checking.
  1. carat instead of karat
  2. Hooters (capped) instead of hooters
  3. “hot-air balloon—you need the helium to get it up…” Okay, this was in a direct quote and Madeleine Albright should know better, but unless the point is to mock Albright’s unfamiliarity with how balloons work, the quote should not have been used.
  4. “Smokey-the-Bear” instead of “Smokey Bear”
And I don’t know that a ranger’s hat is necessarily made by Stetson, although perhaps it is. So that might be five.

1 comment:

-dc said...

it's all about cost-cutting. Too many magazine publishers (the actual company, not the ad sales staff) think the technology will save them, and they can trim their "excess" production staff. (but I'm not bitter)

we're told there's no money for freelance proof readers and fact checkers, no money to make revisions, and no time for the one or two people responsible at the title to go over every page thoroughly.

they'll get the audience they deserve (as I said, I'm not bitter)