Don't get me wrong. Dick Clasen's daughter is doing a wonderful job with the Eureka Herald -- and we all know everyone makes mistakes. The one in this week's paper, though, should win the Eureka Herald the Kansas Press Association's Blooper of the Year Award. The mistake is under the headline, "Accept Two More Resignations." Faith Rucker's last name was mispelled in the worst possible way. The article is right smack in the middle of the front page.
won't get my paper till today or tomorrow, but bet my granddaughter is glad she's no longer associated with the Herald. ;D I ask her why she quit and she said it was because the paper was going under. Hope that don't happen.
Oh, my.
I feel sorry for that poor girl. I've been there many times. But thankfully, we don't have any Ruckers in our hometown. We do, however, have plenty of the other variety.
Poor girl.
I, also, feel really sorry for the person who made the mistake, and the person who didn't catch it, before it went to print.
Itto feel bad for the person or the machine that made a mistake. What a shame that it must be brought to everyones attention. Cast the first stone by all means.
OH MY GOD I MADE A MISTAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope you are smart enough to figure out what I meant.
Sorry guys I think it's funny! Wouldn't ya like to see all the coffee that went shootin out of peoples noses when they saw it?! LMAO
Yes, one needs a sense of humor.
Remember the Sears & Roebuck catalog back in the 60's, I think it was. Who knows, maybe this will help the circulation. Strangers things have happened. And I can tell you who's fault it was. BLAME IT ON THE COMPUTER ::) ::) ::)
Flo, I can't believe you stole my line.
Even though newspaper offices no longer employ typesetters and proofreaders, there still must be no excuses made for errors. And certainly we shouldn't blame them on the stupid computer! I hear that line so often.
Errors, in almost every case, are made by human beings.
Having said that, today's digital imaging world does create some interesting mistakes when we editors finally get to see our printed product. I recently ran several legal publications in our Labette County newspaper that turned to gibberish in the final image-setting process. Needless to say, we got the opportunity to run them again and, yes, I blamed the stupid computer.
Most bloopers are funny. Like several years ago when I ran a story about a local cowboy who won a calf-raping event.
But the one in Eureka is just sad. I feel sorry for the folks who publish that little paper. And, of course, I also feel for the person whose name was abused so terribly. Nothing is more precious than one's name.
LOL ,the man on page 3oh somthin or other! I'd forgot about that lol
So, send it to Jay Leno and we'll see it on "headlines" ;D ;D ;D :angel:
I don't know Dick's daughter, but I admire her for stepping up to the plate after her father's death and I hope this mistake doesn't get her down too much. I feel sorry for both her and the woman. With the woman being a school teacher, I can see the kids referring to her by the "new" name for a while, which is sad.
It is easy to see how the mistake could happen, with those two letters being typed by the very same finger. Still, I do have a sense of humor, and it takes over every once in a while.
Spoken like the true gentleman you are Rudy!
Aw, shucks.
you know, if Marcia hadn't posted this, I wouldn't even have seen it cause I don't read the Eureka school board news. However, this week I did. ;D
Well, maybe the spell checker needs to have the bad word taken out of it, so that when it is spelled, it will point it out. Tell me, Rudy, when your people are writing their stories, does the computer have a spell checker?
Certainly we use Spell-Check. But that doesn't keep mistakes from happening, especially in headlines which are added at the very last minute, or changed when the word count is wrong.
Again, there's no excuse for a mistake.
They will, however, continue to plague anyone who works with thousands of words in a day's time. Or thyme.
There's not a year goes by that we don't print "sinners" for "singers" at least once. But I've sung in my share of church choirs and always felt right at home with other sinners. That's why we go to church. Or shirts.
Another thing: Our Flint Hills Express is written largely by folks in the communities we serve. With the price of gasoline soaring, that trend will become even a more common one. We lightly edit these articles, but if they've got a byline at the top, we tend to go with colloquial phraseologies, first person references, etc. This also leads to wrong information and spellings at times but overall, we're tickled to get the wonderful cooperation that we do in Elk County.
When Janet was sheriff, she often sent us a well-written article and photo, which is quite uncommon for folks elected to law enforcement positions. She was exceptional in every way.
But I digress.
Spell-check, yes. Mistakes, sure. Excuses - never.
Rudy
Rudy;
I always wonder about who sends/writes articles for the high school sports. Seems Longton (Elk Valley) always has good coverage, but West Elk never does too much... and very rarely on the girls' sports. Is that just because no one is taking the time to write an article and send it to you? I tried to encourage Liz to at least write a "coach's corner" section on the VB team, but I'll have to prod her a little harder this year. From when I was in school, even coverage on losing games helped pump us up... something about seeing your name or picture in the paper that makes you proud. And the coaches always had a "player of the week" for all sports.
Good idea Tobina! The adults as well as kids enjoy seeing how it goes through the school year. It is fun watching the neighborhood kids growing up this way. We also used to enjoy the activity reports from the nursing homes; they are part of our community also.
You girls are right on the money. Having your name in the paper was always a big incentive and I have wondered why we don't have more of it from the schools. I am SURE that if the children thought their name would be in the news, they would try harder.
And, Rudy, thank you so much for your comment about Janet. Have I ever commented on her perfect spelling when she was in the second grade. Now this wasn't just the Friday spelling test. This was on everything from any subject that was turned in. Including the headings, dates, etc. Anyone that had Alberta Young for a second grade teacher at Severy knows what I am talking about. Oh, and Janet takes after me.
I have a huge problem with the word ratios.
I always write it as rations. Even did it above before I corrected it.
A spell checker will not catch rations as a misspelling.
Well, my spelling is atrocious and always was. I don't even try much anymore, just rely on spell-checker a lot, and I try to re-read everything to check for correctly-spelled "wrong" words. Alas, they still sneak through. (I wrote 'Fling Hills' just now and it went through just fine :-\) I am always quick to notice misspellings, poor grammar and inappropriate words, especially when others have written them ;D; though I try not to comment (some days I try harder than others! ::) :P :angel:)
I love to read about the kids and what they accomplish. I try to mention that I saw them in the paper when I see the kids too, and I know they enjoy that. Moline Elementary seems to have pretty good system for getting the kids in there, so 'kudos' to whoever does that. Most of the clubs in High School have "recorders" or "secretaries" and maybe they just need reminded to get things submitted. The sports teams would probably need to depend on the coaches or maybe someone the coaches designate to send in stories.
I know that anything I've sent in to the paper has been included; and being able to submit it through email is fantastic! We are truly blessed to have a newspaper that will work with the communities the way the Flint Hills Express does. Thanks Rudy and thanks to your staff too. Now go get an ice-pack before your head starts swelling again.
Tobina, I could write a book about how we gather news from local schools. It ranges from Andy Taylor driving to Longton or Howard and taking pictures and writing the stories himself, to working with school personnel who provide us with stories and/or statistics along with digital photos which they take themselves.
In some cases, schools send almost more than we can print. But in most cases, it's a more complicated process and often involves lots of emailing and phone calling by Jenny Diveley, the manager of the Flint Hills Express. Teachers, coaches and other school staff members don't have news writing as a top priority, so we often have to prod them along. And that's OK, because we want them to keep the kids as their top priority.
But to answer your question, yes, there will always be an imbalance between various sports teams simply because some coaches are super promoters of their teams and others wouldn't sent an article if we paid them to do it.
We will offer our services again this year to attend in-service meetings to provide insight into how best to get articles in the newspaper.
Rudy
all this brought something to mind when I first went to work for an attorney. Correct spelling is very very important in legal documents and during my orintation I remember one example he gave me that could be disasterous. "My client is NOT ready to accept this settlement" and typed in the letter is "My client is NOW ready to accept this settlement". Big difference and spell checker would not catch this mistake - Correct spelling of names, etc. Think that's why I get upset when important papers, including printed checks, have a "c" in my first name. My notary seal even had a "c" in the name (sent it back with a very specific letter >:() - anyhow, that's bout all I got to say about that - ;D
Flo, I'd say the most common error I make is the "not" and "now" switch.
Also, I tend to type really fast and I leave out words. If you leave out the word "not" it changes the meaning of a story one hundred percent.
I.e. "The mayor said he would not resign as the result of his personal business failure."
Take out the "not" and you've got a dandy story, but totally wrong.
Sometimes I wish I had been a Wal-Mart greeter. :-)
(Hey, God loves Wal-Mart greeters, too!)
Rudy
:laugh: :laugh: but think of the excitement you could stir up around the town by leaving the "not" out. ::) . . . but then again, the mayor may not be too happy with you. Hey, you could be a Wal-Mart greeter in your spare time !
Too many of those bloopers and Walmart is not far off! :D :D
NO NO Rudy ~~~ Forget WaMart-- we like you and need you right where you are!!!
l
You're right Jo, we couldn't do without him! Forget Walmart!
Don't give me the big head. Remember, I'm just a sinner in the choir of life.
Rudy
>:( I said Wal-Mart Greeter IN HIS SPARE TIME
Yeah, Rudy, nothing like the wrong word spelled correctly. But then what would I have to roll on the floor and laugh like an idiot over. I love those bloopers. ;D ;D ;D ;)