So Doc:
Have you seen the latest attack against journalists? This one is from Switzerland where, the BBC reports, staffers at Le Temps will be fined for "bad spelling or grammar in an attempt to persuade sloppy writers to reform their ways."
As a former reporter who still can't spell committment (see?), confuses objective and subjective cases, and once sparked a letter writing campaign protesting my use of "irregardless," I support anything that can help us improve our verbal skills and credibility.
But fines? At Le Temps, a mistake (should it be called a Swiss Miss?) will cost nearly three bucks. Okay, I say, but let me make a counter proposal. I'd pay for my spelling mistakes if my editors have to shell out some coin the next time they cut my ending or rewrite my lead (the fine is doubled if errors are introduced).
What's your take on this?
Call Me "Chip"
Founder, Committee for Orthographically-Challenged Journalists
Answer:
Let's be franc. The Swiss have not been on a roll lately, or even a croissant. First they blow the digital watch paradigm to Texas Instruments. Then folks start wondering what the heck they were "neutral" about during World War II, anyway. Now we can't even carry our Swiss Army knives onto airplanes. (What happens if we need a plastic toothpick or feel the urge to tweeze an eyebrow?) And now the Swiss give us monetary fines for spelling mistakes.
Dr. Ink has encountered only one other policy so egregious. He visited a newspaper in Brazil that erected a long screen on the wall of the newsroom, the kind that scrolled electronic messages, a la Times Square. Any time a mistake was discovered in copy, news of it crawled in big red letters across the screen - along with the name of the reporter.
Both examples reinforce research demonstrating what we already knew: that the culture of newsrooms is both "punitive" and "passive." Forms of punishment, and the culture from which they derive, turn rank and file journalists into sheep. Take no chances. Make no mistakes.
Why can't a newspaper reward journalists for months of error-free work? Don't Swiss Bank on it.
