DISQUS

ken bennet · 1 year ago

Thank Christ there's a least one person left in national journalism with standards

Nick Hart · 1 year ago

I'll second that!

Steve Wood · 1 year ago

...and so would anyone who cares about standards in journalism. Trouble is, this wailing in the wilderness means nothing to managements who neither care about nor understand the craft of sub-editing. The very people who are in a position to save the Express titles' standards are being sacked.
Subs ought to be fettling copy into powerful pars, expunging error, writing decent headlines..."making it sing" as Larry Lamb used to say. But they are not. Why not? The Express executive's admirable memo (OK, I disagree with one or two of his style points) suggests he is left with a poor crew after previous redundancy rounds. Further, and this applies particularly to features, I suspect there is a "don't touch the copy" order in force, lest some jumped-up willy-waver like Giles Coren be offended.
The memo does not appear to have had much effect. I have just read a feature in the Sunday Express by Danny Buckland about a model agency. The name of the agency's proprietor, Rachael Baughan, is spelt wrongly throughout as "Racheal". Drivel in, drivel out. A sacking offence? Maybe not, but worth a good bollocking. Trouble is, Richard Desmond is not concerned with good subs or bad subs, just expendable subs. Seen the October 1 Media Guardian piece about the new Express Woodwing system? Pass the sick-bag, Alice.

Nick Hart · 1 year ago

Subbing is indeed a craft, but is mostly about understanding language, and what the written word is for. I learned from good examples, and the fact that I didn't want to waste my time churning out rubbish I wouldn't otherwise wish to read. I sometimes wonder why people that produce the crap we're talking about want to be subs...

Walter Ellis · 1 year ago

We can't let this assault on Express hacks go completely unpunished.

P4 I thought the Express knew exactly what happened to Maddie.
P9 A battle tank is a frontline tank – ie one that drives a battle forward. A "light" tank is used to support infantry. A ground invasion usually follows an air assault. These are recognised terms.
P18 The Scottish Highlands are, er, the Highlands of Scotland. Other countries also have Highlands, not least several states in America. As it happens, the Lithuanian "bloody" Highlands are to the east of the Western Uplands.
P21 "Parenting: to care for someone or something as a parent" (Chambers Dictionary); "Spokesperson: someone who is appointed to speak on behalf ot other people" (ditto)
P23 This is just meaningless bile
P45 That would be the EIGHTEENTH century poet Alexander Pope... unless we're counting whatever verse he may have written before the age of 12.
P46 A comma after "Susan Maughan" and "yet" would have been nice.
P58 In the complaint beginning, "In the Eric Idle spread ‘of course’ rears its useless head yet again," the word "spread" should, of course, have been followed by a comma.
P69 Most people under 40 think of "tonnes," not "tons".
P83 So it is wrong now to use a gramatically correct article. This is knit-picking (possibly knitpicking, maybe knit picking) about knit-picking.

Finally ... "Stop writing this drivel and subs, stop letting it through." This should (of course) read: "Stop writing this drivel, and, subs, stop letting it through."

greycardigan · 1 year ago

Do you really need that comma after the second "subs"?

Walter Ellis · 1 year ago

I think so. But then, I've always been a commas man.

Phil75 · 1 year ago

Can the subs stop subbing each other's subbed subbing?

Dan Thornton · 1 year ago

While I chuckled and can understand the point being made by the anonymous executive, the comment about p46 and 'live' music obviously ignores the fact that recorded music can exist without live performances.

Red socked twat · 1 year ago

who cares? no-one reads it anyway

James · 1 year ago

"P2 - We are then told ‘fewer than one in five voters were happy with Brown’s premiership’. That means none."
No it doesn't. It could be one in six voters or one in ten - it's crassly expressed, but the inference is wrong.

Case Sensitive · 1 year ago

Just spotted I've been dragged into this Pedants' Procession (that should get you going!!) I would point out that, sad but true, Racheal actually spells her name that way so please spare the sub the massive bollocking you have summoned down from Journo Heavan (another tempter!) upon his or her head! Yes, the name was checked by both sub and writer so in this case, it's not guilty.
I hope this helps and - maybe - just maybe - there is enough spelling mistakes, rubbish riting and grammatical howling in this message to keep the red pen flying high!!
Seriously, it is important that people care about this great trade so well done for taking the time and effort.
Long may it continue

DannyBuckland · 1 year ago

Re steve wood's 'drivel-in drivel-out' comments. Sad, but true, Racheal is correct.; that's the way the lady likes it! It was checked by the sub, the features editor and me so perhaps the hell and damnation can be halted in this case.
Mind you, it's good to see that people still care about the craft!