Mistake Meltdown at Metro

Welcome back from the holidays. What does the Proofreader have as a gift for you (courtesy of a New York City newspaper)? One edition, three mistakes.

That's what Metro New York daily newspaper printed in its December 23, 2008 paper. At least that's what the Proofreader caught before nearly gouging his eyes out like Oedipus from having to read such excessively sloppy copy on three consecutive pages. There may have been more.

The first mistake, highlighted in the screen shot above, occurred in an opinion column titled "Obama's Cabinet Only Average," on page 17 of the New York edition. Actually, the whole column was something of a mistake as it's poorly written and boasts a depraved lack of inspiration. If you adjust your view to the last word in the sixth line of paragraph three, you will see "hawishness." Clearly, that was an attempt at "hawkishness." The error appeared in all three U.S. Metro editions: Boston, Philadelphia and New York and lives online at the "Metroblog: My View" page.

Another typo appears in the Sports section, on page 18, in an article titled "Welcome To Choke City." Scan down to the article's sixth paragraph which reads, "It's been more woeful that wacky."

Perhaps Metro writers and editors were attempting the word "than" between woeful and wacky. As usual, the mistake is highlighted in the screen shot below, which you can click on to view enlarged. Interestingly, while the mistake on page 17 has not been fixed online, this mistake has been corrected on the Metro Web site.


That brings us to the last, but certainly not the least of the Metro mistakes in the December 23, 2008 edition. On the very next page (18), perhaps the most amusing of the three blunders occurred in a column titled "Media Blitz." Don't bother reading, just skim down to the second section titled "Need to know more about." In the third line, the writer attempted to use the phrase "public relations," but forgot to type a key letter in the word "public." As a result, the phrase reads "pubic relations." Pubic relations! And, one more time: pubic relations. Which reminds the Proofreader, he has some "pubic relations" of his own he must attend to this holiday weekend.


Before he does, though, how'd these mistakes happen? Perhaps Metro copy editors were given an early holiday or maybe they completed their copy editing duties after having chugged spiked egg nog at the Metro holiday party and engaged in inappropriate "pubic relations" with co-workers. Classic typos and mistakes that shouldn't have been made and, while the holidays might be an excuse, they're definitely not a good one.

Another Day of Burress Coverage, Another Mistake

This time it's the running back

Yesterday Metro New York had problems spelling the name of Giants' wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Today the newspaper got Burress's name right every time (congratulations!), but misspelled Giants' running back Ahmad Bradshaw's first name.

Kindly turn to page four of yuur December 3, 2008 edition of Metro New York (or click on the pic above) and direct your attention to the top story, last line of the second column. Sharp-eyed readers will notice the Giants' running back's first name is spelled "Ahmed." Numerous credible Internet sources confirm the correct spelling of Bradshaw's first name as "Ahmad." The article in which the error occurs is actually an Associated Press story, so two teams of professional editors are responsible for the mistake: those at the A.P. and those at Metro, clearly making this a mistake that shouldn't have happened.

The Proofreader has said it before and will probably say it again a thousand times: it's a small mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.

More Mistakes In Burress Coverage

Proofreaders love a front pager

It's one thing to see mistakes like those published yesterday on the Web site of The New York Times, but it's quite another thrill to see mistakes on something tangible that won't vanish into the ether, like the printed page. And it's infinitely more exciting to see that mistake on a tangible, printed page that happens to be a publication's cover, which is why today is so momentous. Above, please enjoy a spelling error on the front page of today's Metro New York newspaper (click on the picture to enlarge it).

The mistake once again comes amid coverage of what is a big story in New York City: the Plaxico Burress illegal possession of a firearm and accidental shooting saga. Metro's mistakes center on the spelling of the wide receiver's last name. Above, please direct your attention to the third column and the first word of the last line of the third paragraph, after "$100,000." The next word, "Burris," is a glaring mispelling of the player's last name in an article in which the name is spelled correctly three times before the mistake. That's a nice one and it's even repeated for you on the Metro Web site. (See below for a highlighted picture.)

If you have a copy of today's Metro New York, when you're finished enjoying the front page error, please turn to page 17 (or just scroll down if you don't have a copy) and behold another incorrect spelling of Burress's last name. At the top of the page, in the "Today's Debate" circle, the Metro editors pose the question, "Are the Giants better off without Burres?" Yep, one S on the end of Burress instead of the requisite two.

The Plaxico Burress story has been a gold mine for printed mistakes that should never have been made.