Editorial Lapses

Okay, so we all make mistakes; but Newsweek's are so interesting...

p. 26: "the most populist nation"

Somebody slipped on a near-homonym, confusing "populous" for "populist" (at least they didn't offer up "populace" as an adjective). Sorry about that, Steve. Happens even to "the best in the business." Too bad it happened in 18-point bold type on the second page of your lead. Guess you'll have to fire that copy editor. But it's a most intriguing little glitch.

p. 71: "We didn't grasp how radically computers have changed writers' lives until we spoke to the historian Shelby Foote, who won't go near one."

This is what we call an error in pronoun reference. They used to teach this in school. Pronouns stand in for nouns, see. The noun a pronoun stands for is supposed to be the one that's closest to it. So when the writers say that Foote "won't go near one," we're to assume he means... a historian -- no; ... a life -- no, wait;... a writer? -- uh, a writer's life? Hold it! A... computer!

Okay, so maybe this is pretty picayune. Still.

And hey, I'm not the only one complaining here. Check out Eye.Net's Stupid Net.Media Coverage Awards. Try a text search on the names "Intel," "Megatest," or "Dallas Morning News."

MORE