You learn some incredible things by reading the Antigo Daily
Journal. Because the ADJ is run by “editors” who don’t edit, you
get stories with headlines like this one from December 5, page 2:
“Copy of Poe’s first book sells for $662 million”.
That’s a lot of money to pay for a book, even for a first edition of
“Tamerlane and Other Poems”! Of course, there’s always a
possibility that ADJ’s headline writer made a mistake, but this is a
newspaper, and newspapers check their material for accuracy,
don’t they?
In the same issue, we are introduced to a new rhetorical tool, the
“as-splice”. We’re well-acquainted with ADJ’s relentless use of the
“and-splice”, “but-splice”, “after-splice”, and “while-splice” to
connect two or more sentences that would otherwise by normal
journalistic practice be separated with a simple period and a space.
Now, behold the “as-splice” on page 3: “According to police, the
teen admitted bringing the banned items to school as he didn’t
think he’d be caught as the drug-sniffing canines had already
visited the facility on Thursday.”
But wait! There’s more! In the same issue’s “Bits and Pieces”,
editor Fred Berner whines about being caught violating the fire
department rule prohibiting the use of electric lights on a fresh tree
in a public gathering place. The rule was explained in a story in the
ADJ on Monday. Apparently he doesn’t read his own paper,
because Fred thinks he should have an exemption for his office
Christmas tree.
In the spirit of Christmas charity, Fred is generously forgiving: “And
Jon and the guys and the gals at the fire department were always
counted among my friends, and still are.” And using “and” four
times in one sentence has to be a record of some kind, and I’m
not kidding, and you know it, and he can probably do better, and
no doubt will!
—-
There is no sense in checking facts, when you can just make them up. I’ll bet the Antigo Middle School Students Against Destructive Decisions group was surprised to find they had been re-named “Students Against Drunk Driving” in the December 15 2009 ADJ. Or, maybe they weren’t surprised….
Who the hell writes this stuff?
- http://www.antigodailyjournal.com/full.php?id=9974
- More charges here: Drug use raises concerns
- Jan. 22, 2010
You have to hold your nose while reading it, to protect yourself from the foul odor of really bad writing. I won’t quote any of it here, because you would only think I was just making it up. It’s about what you expect from a paper that prints sentences like:
(Jan. 22, page 3, “Drug suspect…”) – “Among the evidence seized was a light bulb that had been fashioned to inhale methamphetamine and other items….” I had no idea light bulbs could inhale.
(Jan. 22, page 3, “Officer check…”) – “The sheriff’s corrections unit reported that a female prison inmate failed to show up for incarceration and home-owners reported that their mailbox had been smashed by vandals – a very serious charge.” That’s also a very serious violation of coherent journalism standards.