The AP Needs a Good Editor

[legalmoose]

Does the Associated Press not hire writers and/or editors who can actually write proper English?

While reading this article about Interior Secretary Kempthorne touring the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, I was horrified to run across the following sentence in the third paragraph down:

His flight from Deadhorse, 120 miles to the west, had been turn backed earlier when a heavy fog prevented his chartered twin-engine turboprop from landing.

(emphasis added)

"Turn backed"?!?!?! What the hell? Does the author not know which word is the verb there? Did his editors not realize which word was the verb? This is not exactly rocket science here, folks, it's very basic English grammar skills. Unbelievable.

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Comments

[technocowboy.livejournal.com]

I had to read this three times before I realized where the mistake was. I kept reading it as 'turned back'. I'm guessing that that's what the copy editors were doing, too. It's fun to see how your mind glosses over some things.

[fritterfae.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you how many times I've sent them correction notices on photographs that have the wrong names and/or the wrong job title. Of course they do nothing about it.

[moderatio.livejournal.com]

I had to read it 5 times before I realized it didn't say "turned back"

[deejayqueue.livejournal.com]

That's the Good Copy. I'd hate to see the rough draft. The editors were all like "Can you words this please? It doesn't english, it doesn't english at all."

[tmb2005.livejournal.com]

Amazing.

But actually, I guess it's not. I've noticed so many grammatical and usage errors - and ridiculously noticeable ones, too - in published writing over the past few years that it's become a rare pleasure to find something that is clearly and correctly written.

[acubpella.livejournal.com]

It's there as turn backed because that's an actual aviation term. When you get sent back to an airport it is a "turn back"

that's probably why they used "turn backed" instead of turned back.