#304

i newspaper, December 23, 2017

Sometimes I wonder if there are any sentient beings involved in the media at all. Surely if you saw a name like ‘Silk Milk Drive’ you would think, Hmm, that looks a bit odd, I wonder if should be ‘Silk Mill’? Which of course it is. The i was not the only offender. This error, which I assume came from agency copy sent to every news outlet, went into the Sun, the Guardian, Mail Online, Metro and the Yorkshire Post – which is based in Leeds! (It was later corrected on its website). Presumably there are still some humans working at the Daily Star, ITV Online, BBC Online and the Mirror, which spotted the mistake.

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I cannot stress strongly enough that it takes years of experience to make a good sub-editor. When I was a junior sub, almost everyone else in the department was older and wiser, and the benefit of their experience was passed down to me. A chief sub would often point out how things could be improved. These days most older subs have been dispensed with and there is no one to teach or mentor the younger ones. Staffs have been so reduced that no one has time to guide anyone else.

This clinic is an attempt to pass on my experience using real examples. I would love to receive items from others as I do not read every paper every day. I will add new entries as I come across them.