Stranger Than Fiction – Much Stranger

I got a call from my friend Farrell earlier this evening. “Do you still have today’s Times?” he asked.

He was calling from Washington, but I knew he wasn’t talking about the Washington Times. The New York Times was his concern and I still had my copy at home.

“Look at Page A6.”

So tonight, when I got home, I did just that. It was a typical inside page in the Times main section. Fully 75% of the page was ads. The lower half was a sedate graph touting the ratings for NBC’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention. It was that ad Farrell was referring to.

A first glance it looks perfectly normal… but read each word carefully.

I can’t believe this got by everyone at NBC and the Times!


3 thoughts on “Stranger Than Fiction – Much Stranger”

  1. Tut! Tut! “Amercians” surely caused by a gremlin in the press. I’m sure this was caught and corrected in later editions (the early editions go out in an unbelievable frenzy of activity). The Times gets so many letters about these typos. There is something satisfying about saying, “Ah, Old Grey Lady, you do,indeed, make mistakes.” And, yes, how well we know that NO human institution is perfect. However, The Times has a pretty darn good record; and, in my opinion, we are fortunate we have her with us.

    When you consider the miniscule typos occurring in literally millions of words, gremlins or no gremlins, that is admirable.

    I will defend The Times to the death. After all she does pay my pension; and my closeness to her for so many years has bred a deep respect for her and her endeavors.

    Carol

    PS: I am enjoying your web sight — you give me food for thought.

  2. This error is the responsibility of NBC. The Times should have checked, but it is an ad after all.

    I first started reading the Times in High School. I commuted 1.5 hours in each direction from our apartment in Queens to Brooklyn. My 12th grade social studies teacher, Mr. Wolfson tried disparately to get his letters published – and sometimes did.

    Now, I consider my home delivery one of the finest luxuries in my life. I read the Times online, and in print, because it is a different experience and I am drawn to different stories in each medium. I find that curious.

    If I could get published in the Times, I would feel like I had died and gone to heaven.

    Geoff Fox

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *