New York Times Reporter has spelling blues - Blogger versus reporter

A tale highlighting the slim differences between bloggers and reporters.

After publishing the story on New York Attorney General filing a lawsuit against a California based Spyware Company, NYT reporter decided the title (New York Sues Internet Company Over use of Spyware) was gramatically dubious.

So he decides to change “Over” to “On”. Then he realizes “On” doesn’t look so good, specifically the capitalization. So he goes in again and changes it to “on”. Now he is finally happy.

At this point you may rightfully ask how do I know this. Well it just happens that the publishing software they use immediately creates a RSS feed entry of the article after it is published. Then each (saved) change creates a new feed entry! Luckily for them the feed url is identical in all the three feed items. Wonder what software they use. Maybe they should switch over to WordPress.

The second question you may rightfully ask is why do I care or you should?
I care because it shows that reporters are very much like bloggers, there isn’t much separating them in white towers. They too make silly mistakes and are prone to similar errors (and corrections). And there isn’t any great process which shields them from the same. The last part is rather important.

Isn’t it time bloggers are recognized as (mostly unpaid) reporters?

So I wonder when can I get that “Press” Sticker, which will give me free access through crowded streets in Kolkata.