# spotting typos in "respectable" media **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972 "2010-06-13T00:24:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/1 "2010-06-13T00:24:48Z")
like this one: [http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/popwrap/the\_most\_underrated\_movies\_of\_the\_Z3RuWm3WC9PwUNj95UAQUJ?photo\_num=3](http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/popwrap/the_most_underrated_movies_of_the_Z3RuWm3WC9PwUNj95UAQUJ?photo_num=3) tara reid’s roll? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/2 "2010-06-13T00:27:37Z")
I think she played the drummer. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/3 "2010-06-13T00:28:08Z")
Also in that list: “Having just missed Y2K’s “end of days” fervor, this Kim Basinger demonic thriller also **alluded audience**. Except me! Christina Ricci turns in a particularly 'head’y performance.” Two! Two typos in a row! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/4 "2010-06-13T00:33:33Z")
I had a book, “500 books you must read” or something, that listed Kurt Vonnegut’s _Slaughterhouse-5_, complete with plot synopsis. However, every time it mentioned the protagonist’s name, Billy Pilgrim, the author of the write-up apparently confused him with the actress who played _Doctor Who_ companion Rose Tyler… or else why did they constantly refer to him as Billie Piper? The author got it wrong. The editor got it wrong. Everybody got it wrong, and it went into print. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/5 "2010-06-13T00:54:11Z")
Spell check has put an end to typos, but you still need someone to check for homophones. With budget cuts, the step might be skipped, with disastrous results. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/6 "2010-06-14T17:15:41Z")
There is no editing online. Historically-print media outlets don’t give a crap about their online content, even though that’s where more and more consumers are turning. Because of that, online standards are still much lower than print standards, and it’s acceptable for authors to proofread their own copy. A lot of places also figure that whoever posts the online content can do the copyediting. The value of professional copyeditors for print content was once beyond question; that same lesson hasn’t yet been learned for online content. Frankly I’m not sure if it ever will be, because the general public seems to have lower standards for online content, too. _P.S. The statements in this post are entirely my own opinion, based solely on anecdotal evidence and no facts whatsoever. I’m so tired of mistakes in online articles it’s not even funny. Oh, and I’m also a professional editor._ ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/7 "2010-06-14T18:00:33Z")
As a New Yorker I must point out that the term “respectable media” in conjunction with The New York Post is an oxymoron. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/8 "2010-06-14T18:15:23Z")
And in item #10 in the list, I’m pretty sure they meant “manna” from heaven, not “mana”; and in #19 “no other family put the “fun” in dysfunction quite like the Wolfmeyer’s.” Quite like the Wolfmeyer’s what? Don’t leave me hangin’! Suffice it to say this piece ran unedited by anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/9 "2010-06-15T11:11:29Z")
The BBC is not much better, from todays newspages: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is seeking to take full control of satellite broadcaster BSkyB, by **acquring** (sic) the 60.9% of the shares it does not already own. > **[Murdoch's News Corporation in BSkyB takeover bid](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10316087)** > > Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation launches a bid to take full control of satellite broadcaster BSkyB. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/10 "2010-06-15T13:53:44Z")
The subscriber’s TV Guide mentioned that a lifetime achievement Tony award was being given to “Harold Printer.” I’m image both Pinter, who has done little theatre work, and theatre producer legend extraordinaire Harold “Hal” Prince were very surpised (it was corrected in newstand copies.) Not really a typo, but on September 11, 2008, the local section of our New Jersey Record had the headline SEVEN YEARS FOR NECROPHILIA. They changed it for the on-line edition. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/11 "2010-06-15T15:40:29Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > The BBC is not much better, from todays newspages: > > Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is seeking to take full control of satellite broadcaster BSkyB, by **acquring** (sic) the 60.9% of the shares it does not already own. > > [Murdoch's News Corporation in BSkyB takeover bid - BBC News](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10316087.stm) Now been fixed. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotting-typos-in-respectable-media/542972/12 "2010-06-15T17:49:01Z")
Ford was running a promotion for one of its car models a few weeks ago and was trying be hip by having artists around the country come up with murals for them. They printed an ad in one of the local free newpapers, stating that one mural in Brooklyn was at the corner of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ & Clawson. There is no Clawson Avenue in Brooklyn; it’s Classon, pronounced like Clawson. I blame Ford or the ad company, although that particular free paper has its own editing problems.