• FelixQui
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A Happy One
Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas
Permalink : http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/FelixQui
Thursday , January 3 , 2008
Professionalism at the Nation: too many errors
Posted by FelixQui , Reader : 486 , 21:33:23  
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Although the Nation is far better than any of its local competitors, it is not perfect. One thing that annoys me are the too regular mistakes in grammar, especially in headlines. For example, a current front page headline reads: "Princess Sirindhorn asks officials to care ___ people paying tribute" (Errors are marked green.) The sense is still clear, but it sounds awful.

I'm not a grammar obsessive, and would almost never comment on a similar error in a Blog post (I make plenty of typos myself, and even the odd grammar bloop when I don't proof before posting), but this is the front page headline, on an important topic, and with all due respect, it looks really sloppy to let such things be published. It would be more professional to have them competently proofread before letting them go online. It is clear that reports are not so proofed before being released.

Another example is the first sentence of another current front page article "People mourn over the loss of the great princess" (this headline could also be better written where indicated) which reads, "Ups ten thousand of Thai people assembled together and paid respect to the portrait of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana." Teh following sentence, concerning His Majesty the King, is even more garbled. In fact, I've just reread the article, and almost every sentence contains errors! Again, this looks very sloppy and unprofessional. If it was only an occasional slip, I wouldn't care, but it's not rare, it's common. 

I'm sure the Nation can do better.


Read comment

comment 27
Ian date : 06/01/2008 time : 20.21
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/anterian36

How about correcting "health and beauty" in the list of topic subjects?
comment 26
Piset date : 05/01/2008 time : 11.31
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/mahwatthai
Piset

One keey point, most of the time, the errors I found were in the breaking news.
comment 25
Piset date : 05/01/2008 time : 11.25
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/mahwatthai
Piset

So, assumed that Ian's suggestion was accepted by the management, now the Nation owes me 10 bucks.
comment 24
windy date : 05/01/2008 time : 10.00
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/lisnaree
Lisnaree Vichitsorasatra

thank you
comment 23
Ian date : 04/01/2008 time : 21.22
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/anterian36

Piset, don't forget to submit your bill
comment 22
GGrass date : 04/01/2008 time : 20.09
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/GGrass

come on guys... give them a break. someone might get fired.
comment 21
FelixQui date : 04/01/2008 time : 17.50
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/FelixQui

Piset,
I notice that the headline you commented on (C. 7) has now been revised in line with your suggestions.
comment 20
Ian date : 04/01/2008 time : 17.23
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/anterian36

Felix, my wife's double cousin (two brothers married two sisters), is a sub editor of the OED. We have had many discussions on the etymology of obscure slang words, a hobby of mine.
comment 19
FelixQui date : 04/01/2008 time : 16.43
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/FelixQui

Ian,
I'm always happy to plug the OED. It is a great piece of ongoing collective scholarship. I also have a hard copy of the previous edition, which I rarely use any more. Now that it's available online, it's vastly more useful. The online version is less cumbersome than a shelf full of whacking great volumes, it's available pretty well any where I am (I can even access it on my mobile), it's constantly updated, it's easy to quote, and the search options are amazing.
It really is good value for money, and I'm happy that some of it might find it's way back to Thailand.
comment 18
FelixQui date : 04/01/2008 time : 16.34
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/FelixQui

RWS,
I added green to indicate what I didn't like but did not remove, change or add to what the Nation had written. Sorry, I could have made that clearer. Had they left out the second "the" that particular headline would indeed have been fine. Although it did not annoy me as much as the first headline I commented on, it would have been better had the Nation either used the indefinite article "a" or simply have deleted it entirely as you suggested. The grammar throughout the article following that headline is truly awful.
comment 17
redandwhitestripes date : 04/01/2008 time : 16.18
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/reallifethailand

Felix, a point well made. If I understand you correctly (as I have not read the articles in question) the headline "People mourn the loss of great princess" would actually not be out of place in any newspaper. I believe it's common media style to miss out a second definite article in a headline. JMHO. Your crtique is very well made though.
comment 16
Ian date : 04/01/2008 time : 15.46
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/anterian36

Felix, I am delighted to heare you plug the OED, it helps with the family income and ensures I get better birthday presents:-)
comment 15
FelixQui date : 04/01/2008 time : 15.13
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/FelixQui

Boracic,
I would not say "superior", except that on this particular question, I happened to know more. Your knowledge will be superior to mine in the areas you are interested in.
I don't think you need to bow down because I used a dictionary to check my ideas. Perhaps the Nation needs a good English dictionary, and to start using it occasionally.
My favourite is the OED online version at: http://oed.com/ It's not free, but well worth the annual subscription.
comment 14
Boracic date : 04/01/2008 time : 15.02
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/Boracic

Felix - I bow to your superior knowledge and stand corrected.
comment 13
Boracic date : 04/01/2008 time : 15.02
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/Boracic

Felix - I bow to your superior knowledge and stand corrected.
comment 12
FelixQui date : 04/01/2008 time : 14.25
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/FelixQui

Boracic,
Countries are not international, which means "existing or occurring between nations." (Concise OED). For something to be described as international, it must involve at least two different countries. Agreements, treaties, trade and the like can be international. It can also mean used by or a mix of people or cultures from many countries. For example, Bangkok is an international city - it has people and things from many different countries. Suvarnapum is an international airport because it serves flighs between different countries.
The Nation meant either "foreign" or "many", and "international" was the wrong adjective as it does not mean either of those things.
comment 11
Manhunt date : 04/01/2008 time : 14.22

Brilliant idea Ian. I need extra bahts to survive
comment 10
Ian date : 04/01/2008 time : 14.21
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/anterian36

Piset, well spotted:-) Now if every time we spot a mistake the Nation paid us 10 baht how long would it take to become a millionaire?
Felix, seeing as you started this blog, how about a blog called "Mistakes of the Nation", then everytime we bloggers spot one we just post it there as a comment. It will earn you lots of hits
comment 9
FelixQui date : 04/01/2008 time : 14.15
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/FelixQui

Piset,
You're right, "International Countries" is a silly error, although it doesn't grate as much as some of the more glaring errors of late. As you noted, the problem is in the adjective. What on earth is an "international country"? As you suggested, "foreign (or national) leaders/governments" is what the Nation meant and should have written. They could also have said "Numerous" or something similar, or they could simply, and perhaps best, have left out the adjective, which would have been shorter and stronger for the headline in question. "Countries (or Leaders) send condolences" would have made a much better headline.
comment 8
Boracic date : 04/01/2008 time : 14.10
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/Boracic

I think countries are international....aren't they?
comment 7
Piset date : 04/01/2008 time : 13.51
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/mahwatthai
Piset

Ian:

I feel that the following headline sounds funny:

"International countries send condolences"

I feel that it might be better put as, "Countries' Leaders Sent Condolences." or Foreign Governments Sent Condolences."

not "International Countries"

What do you think?
comment 6
FelixQui date : 04/01/2008 time : 11.56
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/FelixQui

Unless they think of themselves as non-professional amateurs, the Nation should be paying someone to proofread. The current shoddiness looks very unprofessional.
comment 5
Ian date : 04/01/2008 time : 10.11
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/anterian36

I once a couple of years ago offered to proof read for them for free:-)
They did not reply, a fairly normal circumstance I find.
comment 4
Piset date : 04/01/2008 time : 00.21
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/mahwatthai
Piset

I am glad that somebody points out this. Myself also have frequently find either typo or spelling errors on this internet edition, much less so in the printed edition.

As a secretarial trainer, I was trained to catch these errors, although myself have been getting more and more clumsy lately.
comment 3
Boracic date : 03/01/2008 time : 22.49
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/Boracic

Felix your last line says "I'm sure The Nation can do better"

Well, maybe they can't.
comment 2
Hermano_Lobo date : 03/01/2008 time : 22.39
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/yurivelasquez

I concur, I make typo and grammatical errors ad nauseum. To make errors in the main headlines smacks of a rush job or just too slap-dash ?
comment 1
Boracic date : 03/01/2008 time : 22.03
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/Boracic

Felix - I've just read it.......unbelievable!!
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