Technodufi

Why is it that so many TV and print reporters are such technology dufi (plural of dufus)? Or more to the point, why do they let their techno-illiteracy show so openly?

I don't expect every reporter to be an aspiring rocket scientist or brain surgeon. But when reporters write or talk about technological issues, why must they scramble the facts so often—and so badly?

For example, there's the Orlando TV news anchor who talked about how space-shuttle astronauts were viewing the Earth "from millions of miles in space." Fortunately, someone in the studio pointed out to her that the shuttle orbits at an altitude of about 200 miles.

I once worked with the editor-in-chief of a vertical-market technology magazine (let's call it, say, "Banking Technology") who did not know how a PC works. I was handling public relations for a banking software company, and I had to give this clueless editor a two-hour tutorial in how a PC works before she could understand what our software did.

Several years ago I was interviewed by a Wall Street Journal reporter about my love for the Apple Macintosh. A few days later, I got another call from a WSJ fact-checker. He was calling to verify the details of what I had said to ensure that my story was told accurately. Why can't more publications go that extra mile? After all, all they have to offer their audiences is information. Why can't they do everything possible to ensure that what they publish is accurate information?

Let's face it: From iPhones to computerized sewing machines, the modern world is driven and supported by technology. It's a sad state of affairs when people whose job is communicating technical information have no knowledge of technology, and/or are unwilling to collaborate with technology experts to ensure what they report is accurate.

What about you? What technical blunders have you heard or seen from the media technodufi?

1,000s of Ways to Be Wrong

The English gaff discussed in today's post appears primarily in small-town newspaper ads, billboards, and such. Instead of writing "Thousands of styles available" the ad or flyer says "1,000s of styles available" or even "1,000's of styles" (refer to the previous posting about bad apostrophe usage).

This goof is IMHO one of the most inexcusable. After all, when you write "1,000", it plainly says "one thousand". So if you write "1,000s of styles", you're saying "one-thousands of styles"; and not even the least educated person would ever say that!

A curiosity related to this particular breach of language etiquette is that while people will write about "100s of styles" and "1000s of items", they never mention their "1,000,000s of color combinations". Nor do they tout their "12s of flavors." Do they simply not have millions or dozens to offer—only hundreds or thousands?

Don't get me wrong—I don't expect small business owners to be grammar experts (although it would benefit everyone if they were). Again I lay the blame at the feet of those who could affect a change: the project managers and quality checkers at newspapers, printers, and outdoor advertisers. Did you all fail English class in high school? Did you even take English class in high school? Would it kill your company's budget to buy a book about proper English usage? Do you even know such books exist? You could start with "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Lynn Truss.

Once again, dear reader, it's your turn. This blog is your chance to sound off about the strange ... the bizarre ... the annoying goofs you've seen (and yes, I know I just misused the ellipsis—but that's the subject of another entry!).

Apostrophe Atrocities

It's amazing how much the humble apostrophe is abused in today's popular culture.

TV news stations, newspaper ads, billboards and many other public forums are awash in apostrophe disasters. What people really seems to choke on is the plural-versus-possessive issue. Why can't people—especially those who write ad copy—get it right?

Some examples I've recently seen include the auto dealer who claimed to offer "Hundreds of car's at the best prices!" Then there's the TV station that provided a bulleted list to supplement a reporter's story, with one of the bullets reading "Tomorrows event begins at 10 a.m."

Aren't ad agencies hiring people who understand 5th-grade punctuation? Aren't TV station managers concerned about embarrassing themselves before tens of thousands of people?

It's not as if the rules for apostrophe usage are rocket science. I think the apostrophe is abused for several reasons: First, because people are lazy; they don't want to take five minutes to learn the difference between plural and possessive. Also, people aren't concerned about details or finesse, and they don't realize (and won't believe when you tell them) how foolish and unprofessional they look.

It's your turn—I'd love to see some of the apostrophe atrocities you've seen!

Subject/Verb Wars

It seems to me that one of the biggest challenges faced by modern English speakers is correct subject/verb agreement. I lived for many years in the midwest and the deep south, and I can't count the number of times I've heard someone say "I seen" or "they was". I wonder how such folks ever manage to graduate from elementary school, much less high school.

But today, I'm hearing more and more subject/verb mismatches coming from the mouths of local TV news reporters. I live in the Orlando, FL television market, and there are a few reporters who regularly mix up their subjects and verbs. Most of the time, it's not quite as blatant as "we was", but it's noticeable nonetheless. For example, "The large nest of hornets were threatening the neighborhood children." Last time I checked, "nest" was a singular noun.

I guess no one in station management is listening to their own broadcasts. Or worse, they're listening and they don't recognize the problem!

Let's hear from you—is this a problem only in central Florida? Or are TV reporters across the country also mixing up their subjects and verbs?