Editing Detective, Jesse Snyder

Learning from Errors

Every major newspaper or wire service makes grammatical errors in its publications. It is important for sprouting journalists to recognize this, and analyze these mistakes in order to learn from them. There are many different variables that cause error in a reporter's writing, and recognizing them is the best way for beginners to learn. What's better than learning from another writer's mistakes?

Jennifer Carbert wrote the following in her blog post: "With all the different possibilities for numbers in a accuracy, not only in recording the right numbers, but in the wording the writer uses to give meaning and context, is vitally important." Before we learn from previous mistakes we must recognize that there is an endless number of variables that can cause inaccuracy or error. Journalists must learn from other writer's mistakes as well as their own, all the while remembering that perfection is impossible.


Errors in Major Newspapers


This is a clip from the Edmonton Journal article "Call off the war against boys." It should say like to be known rather than like to known. These types of errors are typically the most obvious in newspapers. Simply leaving out adjectives and verbs is seemingly one of the most common mistakes made in publications.



This article in the Vancouver Sun mentioned the the dilemma of how much time and money to spend on one's home. The word dilemma, by definition, is a choice between two or more possibilities. Using how much with the noun dilemma is improper in this sentence. In order to use this word correctly there should be a definite choice for the subject, like a specific amount of time or money to spend on the home.


This is the headline from an Edmonton sun article. It is inaccurate because the dog was stabbed, not shot. It was an Edmonton police officer, Const. Bruce Edwards, who shot the man. The rest of the article is accurate, so this is a spelling error, not a factual error. This error typifies a common mistake journalists make. It is a single word that was misused, but it still has the potential to change the outlook of the entire story.

Note: Image from a newspaper clipping on mortgage reports website