What the fgfgfg?

Boy … just when I thought the Honolulu Star-Advertiser had gotten its act together, they go and let their guard down. Check out the horrible editing error that appeared in yesterday’s paper:

And this is one good reason why my personal habit of writing headlines BEFORE filing my story pays off. It doesn’t matter if you’re filing it in a manila folder after using a typewriter, or filing it in a computer desktop folder, or prepping your notes to save in your iPad, or filing the story with your editor at the local newspaper.

I know at some news outlets it’s common to use a holder headline with every good intention to insert the real one before the final layout is approved. But see, you gotta actually remove the holder and replace it, don’t you think?

The really bad thing is … think of how many people had a chance to catch the omission. Writer, page editor, layout artist, everybody. People, you have to check these things before they run. You just gotta proofread your work, because once in print, in effect, it’s as good as chiseled in stone.

Can you just imagine what Dave Carpenter would say if he saw this? I’m sure it’ll be a little more incredulous than “What the fgfgfg!”

News media inattention. It's just another sign that the Apocalypse is coming.

P.S. Thanks to my former colleague, Cindy Leong Goo, for the reminder heads-up.