Lead by Example – Except in the News

Or … When can you call yourself a “writer”?

Lead by example, right? Argh, are we in for some bad grammar from our kids and grandkids! Quick, delete the news links from your computer!

Why? By reading what passes for journalism these days, our children are definitely getting the wrong impression – that typos and bad grammar are A-OK. How can our schools combat illiteracy with what passes for news articles every day on the Internet?

When I was a kid … oh, quit rolling your eyes. I know that’s a disdainful cliché, but it’s appropriate! BTW, while typing that sentence, the Microsoft grammar tool urged me to change “it’s” meaning “it is” – which is proper – to “its.” See what I mean?

So … when I was in school …

 … we emulated news reporters and brought newspaper clippings to school to read and discuss in Social Studies, as examples of proper journalistic writing. In creative writing classes we studied the classics and learned other ways of writing – poetry, prose, essays, and fiction.

Throughout the learning process we honed our grammar so regardless of what genre our muse steered us to write, it was prepared in proper English, with a twist of style.

Journalists and their venerable publications once exemplified what many pimple-faced literary students aspired to be – an exceptional writer for a professional publication. (And, we did not begin or end our sentences with a preposition; but that’s a different article.)

Of course oft-published journalists made grammatical errors and typos; no one is perfect. However, their editors picked through their work and cleaned up the messes before the majority of cringe-worthy errors made it to the newsstands.

Today – ah, today’s another story. Pick a day – any day – and just spend an hour reading the news, online or off. Bet you won’t get through the first three articles without noticing glaring errors. Does it bother you? If it doesn’t, it should.

As an editor, it breaks my hart heart. :-) Sigh.

Without a standard for grammar, why bother to teach it beyond fifth grade or so? According to a March 15, 2013 U-T San Diego article, “The number of adults reading at an elementary-grade level has grown beyond the 50 percent level in the United States and continues to grow.”

In our current economic condition, how long will it take schools to decide they can drop those courses and save money? Will it happen any time soon? Nah. Not in my lifetime, and perhaps not even in yours.  But with truncated digital texts and the aforementioned bad grammar … dare I say it? I see the writing on the wall!

I began to notice the signs several years ago, when numerous errors in the media assaulted my senses to the point of distraction. I tried to ignore it. Like an insidious disease, it worsened. By 2007 I attributed it to the recession’s industry downsizing and digital overhaul, which may still be a factor. However, I see editors on-staff in the publications’ directories. Are they stretched to the limit, or have their jobs changed too, to glorified babysitters?

A few examples:

Waterproof gadgets no longer a myth
05/28/13

“Take you iPod or Kindle and throw it in the water. Go ahead. Chuck it. But make sure San Diego-based Waterfi got a hold of it first.” KGTV 10

San Diego’s KGTV-10 can’t even get the first sentence right … I didn’t bother to click the link for the rest of the story. If it had been in print, I’d have chucked it in the water.

I’m a tad more forgiving of bloggers because they’re generally a staff of one; and let’s face it, too many have no real writing experience, but their content is compelling, thus mechanics are overlooked. (I still advocate for blog editing, however.) So this faux pas didn’t bother me quite as much; however, it did appear on Yahoo! Shine:

By Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! blogger | Work + Money – Tue, May 28, 2013 1:32 PM EDT

 “Santos says that she and Garrido haven't communicated yet, but that the two have know each other since 2008 and Garrido crowned her Miss Canada World in 2011.”

And THIS is an AP story … once the royal crown of news architects:

Associated Press – 6 hrs ago (05/28/13 @ 1:00a-PT)

            (Not attributed to a correspondent – so perhaps written by an intern?)

“The fire broke out about Monday afternoon in Los Padres National Forest about 15 miles north of Santa Barbara, and hours later had grown to 1,000 acres — or 1.5 square miles — amid winds of about 20 mph, U.S. Forest Service officials said. It was 5 percent contained.”

Phew! I’m about tuckered out reading that paragraph. The writer’s journalism degree didn’t include proper writing techniques and how not to bore your reader? Off the top of my head I can think of five alternative words that would fit well in this paragraph to alternate with “about”:  approximately; nearly; almost; around; roughly … how hard was that?

When can you call yourself a “writer”? Or an editor? The day you grab your academic degree from the sweaty palm of a ceremonial bureaucrat? No. Learning to write doesn’t need a piece of paper that stacks up debt before you even start a career. It does require a more-than-adequate command of your language. However you acquire your knowledge, acquire it you must, to be considered a good writer.

Yes, even great writers make mistakes.

 That’s why they have editors and proofreaders. As for me, I sometimes get lazy which contributes to what I don’t know about proper grammar. I believe in education; I still try to learn something about my craft every day.  And here’s a fun example that news media don’t hold the reins on errors – check out the post re: a Federal Trade Commission email. (“Spot the errors in this automated FTC email.”)

But I also had a fantastic couple of English teachers in high school to whom I attribute my love and skill in writing. I fear the majority of our children today are not being taught – simply babysat. They’re advancing through elementary and secondary courses only to emerge from high school (and even college) without knowing the difference between their / there / they’re. Writing was not always perceived as a boring, outdated form of creativity. It was once taught as a form of art. As it should be.

Over centuries and millennia, have artists broken the rules to become masters? Of course. But I guarantee they knew the rules first; then understood how and why the rules could be broken to produce a beautiful, striking, unique and meaningful work of art. Become a master of your writing – learn the rules first – then, dear Writer, let your muse run rampant.

Ciao for now!

LinDee Rochelle is available to speak to your group, organization, or school, about writing/publishing; and how to begin and maintain a Living Legacy, for sentiment or for sale. Contact LinDee@PenchantforPenning.com, or call 858-292-5288. Events can be scheduled live in San Diego, or via Skype.