I have a fresh cup; I think you need it

Again, I'm trolling my ever favorite newspaper, and I find a questionable mistake.

The Brockton Enterprise is reporting that Boston school bus drivers are going on strike. This made the paper yesterday, and today, they have a little more detail. Only problem is: How in the hell do one "walk of the job"? The article itself, is not immune to wrong use of words. Or misspells. If the writer can use a 'big word' like "intimations", why can't the sentence "Tuesday's strike in Boston caught officials there off guard [...]"?
I would have dropped the 'there' or at least put it somewhere else.

Front Page online

Title on page

Honestly - there's a reason why this paper is constantly looking for editors and reporters, then decides it wants to file bankruptcy. The workers can't do their work.

I feel like I'm at my current job, when I read things like this. The problem with the store I'm in, is the person doing the marketing isn't catching the mistakes, nor is the assistant. To further frustrate things, the owners allow this to happen. But I digress, as it's a one off store and there's no real threat to an entire chain.

However, shame on you, GateHouse Media, for hiring people that constantly make mistakes. Only good thing about this, is the fact they are consistent. Instead of a Christmas bonus this year, should the employees still be there, may I suggest a few books?

Number one in the suggestion is part of the great "For Dummies" series - English Grammar For Dummies. Not only is the purchase price great, but the reader will learn how to dot their i's and cross their t's... and make sure those letters have the correct punctuation. This book is as stripped down as you can get, as it is laughing at you, not with you. You're not the dummy, you're just a little confused in how to show the correct use of there, they're and their.

Numero dos, like the previous book, is not laughing at you when the title calls you out on your mistake. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Well, sounds off putting, but the examples in each chapter truly make you think. They are not there to guilt the reader into shame, but to allow a "oh, so that's where I've been going wrong..." thought. As with all paper backs, it's easy to travel with.... just for that chance the reporter needs to travel out of state for a piece about jaywalking.

Thirdly, I feel like Writing Copy For Dummies can help the person I work with, a little more than it can help the paper staff. Yes, it's another For Dummies book, but the more you can dive in to this series, the better. It's not like they one off you and you're left still scratching your head. They give prime examples of why mistakes are made and how to fix them.

There are so many books out there to help formulate thoughts and get them on paper (or computers). Hopefully one of the suggested books will be purchased for the employees...

Cheers;








See also:
Amazon page: Write here!

Someone didn't have their coffee....

... And if they did, it hasn't kicked in yet. They need to add an energy drink to the mix, because apparently, no one checked the captions under the photos.

Trolling The Enterprise again, I came across an interesting blog post about a local Massachusetts resident. Matthew Salloway was a pivotal behind the scenes person in "Lee Daniel's 'The Butler'". Salloway hails from Braintree, Mass, but works in Hollywood. According to the article, he's starred in a handful of movies before going behind the camera... well... away from the camera, as he was an executive producer on this film.

Daniel's 'Butler' is based on a true story about a (black) White House butler who served under 8 presidencies. It was a good movie, but all I kept saying is "15 more years, X amount of presidents...". Well shot and well acted; the nominated cast deserves the awards if they get it.

However, the writer of the article, only deserves the "I didn't check my spelling" award.

Case in point: The story is fine, but the captions read "Lee Daniels' The Buter". Lee Daniels made another movie, and this one is called 'The Buter'? It would have been completely different if one photo Salloway provided was misnamed, but to have four, that's a shame on you. Considering the main photo says "Butler", why all of a sudden lose the L?

'The Butler's' Braintree connection

Who's to say what went through the person's head when they wrapped up the interview and the story, but as the blog section states, "It's only entertainment"!



Cheers;

..And this is news, because...?

Trolling the Emptyprise, like usual, I came across a video today in the gallery. This particular clip tells me nothing about why it is news. It's a video of a man who purchased 251 pizzas from one of the local pizza places, to then take back to the state he currently resides in (Madison, MS). 

Problem is, the almost 3 minute video is all cuts and very little talk. It is as if someone were practicing their video editing skills, and as an April Fools joke, put it on the website. But wait, this isn't April first. 

Seriously, with no information about the video, how is this news? Because someone was shocked an out of stater bought so many pizzas? The only thing the page says for an article is "Dave Schuler, of Madison, MS, picks up 251 pizza's at Town Spa in Stoughton, and makes the 1400 mile trip back home". The pizza owns something? An apostrophe 's' is after that word..... 


If you're going to half ass something, at least push it to the back of the class...

Fact checkers un unite!

Good thing I left Brockton. Apparently the local news paper can't spell. Or better yet, don't explain what a new sport is.

Has anyone heard of a "blowling league"? I had to ask my mother, and she had no idea. I told her to "go to the Enterprise site and click on the 6 tab". She did and didn't know either. Upon clicking on the image, it went to a photo gallery. Headline still reads "blowling" however the next paragraph says "bowling".

Question still remains as who the hell checks this stuff before posting (number one), and did I really try to apply there a few times to be a news reporter (number 2)? Maybe the Enterprise and it's parent company GateHouse Media won't hire me because I can have good sentence structure (college education / degree). Either that, or we're gonna start putting some other cards in the ring, giving the population of the city...