Newspaper Errors

I recall as a young student at C.C. Ring Elementary School being told that reading a newspaper was key to being involved in the world and gaining a respectable degree of literacy.  In fact, it was urged upon us that, in order to be successful adults, reading the newspaper daily was almost mandatory. (I looked for a "Read a newspaper everyday" ad, but couldn't find one.)

As time has marched on, the Internet has "taken over" the once irrefutable position of newspapers as the chief method of informing the masses.  However, newspapers continue to be a romantic representation of what information means to a free and informed society.  Eyes darting from column to column, passing the pages between hands, the reader feels connected the world through ink and paper.  While a train station may not be littered with newspaper addicts any longer, there are still many of us that enjoy getting our news the "old fashioned way".

In the midst of my enjoyment, I have been severely annoyed on several occasions by the quality of the newspaper articles.  My foremost complaint is with the New York Times, which, as of late, has shown a startling tendency toward grammatical errors.  Errors distract the reader from the main point of the article and degrade the use and formality of the English language. (Though some likely question whether formal English is all that useful). These errors occur not only in print, but also on the website.  Here for instance, is a notable example (note the last sentence):

My chief complaint is that these are so very easy to remedy. A simple grammar check before you place the title or the article online - Microsoft Word caught all the exemplified errors appearing throughout this post - and there would be no problem. My secondary complaint is, as suggested above, reputable news sources publishing terrible work only diminishes the capacity of language to communicate effectively.  I'm not asking for dense treatises on the meaning of life. The New York Times is certainly welcome to publish "All the news that's fit to print". I simply wish that they would do a better job of proofreading.

I truly believe what I was taught as a schoolboy. Keeping in touch with the world around you means reading the news; online or in print.  Poor grammar and a lapse in the level of thought and clarity reduces the value of the enterprise. Whatever the case, whether it be laziness or technical inexperience, newspaper publishers need to do a much better job of editing their product to retain the virtues of this fantastic medium.