[kictanet] Declining English grammar in our Newsprint

Mon Oct 10 11:09:57 EAT 2011

I don't think that argument really works. You need to look at the number of
mistakes per article, i.e. the relative number of mistakes you make. And
more practice = fewer mistakes, relatively speaking (I hope).

We're talking about the publishing industry here: it's job is to produce
good writing. Part of quality publishing is that you have a quality control
process (as you would, I imagine, with software development and other things
that you produce professionally).

A lot of the journalists are taught by the 'misclennous' teachers. And the
quality control process is seriously lacking, not just with spelling,
language and punctuation. An entertainment pullout should not talk about
Meryl Steep, or write that Eve (the rapper) dated Gambia's president's son.

You could argue that it doesn't matter whether someone writes 'misclennous'
or not because we can figure out that it's meant to say 'miscellaneous', but
I wonder how carefully done the content is, and what sort of quality control
process exists at all.

I'd imagine if you do coding, or if you run a firm that develops software,
you want to deliver a good product and keep mistakes minimal. That ambition
should be no different for professional writer

But ultimately it depends where you set your own quality standards: whether
you're fine with maggots turning up, or whether you set up processes that
will eliminate (or at the very least control) the appearance of maggots. Do
you go for the lowest common denominator or do you set your sights a bit
higher?

On 10 October 2011 10:54, Agosta Liko <agostal at gmail.com> wrote:

> Lets just say writing articles ... is like writing software.
>
> If you are writing alot of code you are going to make mistakes ...
>
> If you write one article a month, you are less likely to make mistakes than
> if you are expected to write 30
>
> just like ... if you are writing alot of code, there are going to be
> mistakes ...
>
> What we are doing with this grammer thread is "throwing out the baby with
> the bathwater"
>
> :)
>
>
>
> Ps: When served a plate of rice in Kenya and you see one maggot - what do
> you do ?
>
> Throw out the plate or remove the maggot silently and engage
>
>
> If there are any typos ... pole sana :)
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 10:36 AM, luke mulunda <lmulunda at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>> I would personally blame it on cost-cutting. We have journalism and
>> English experts in newsrooms, but they have too much on their hands to spot
>> the most obvious and embarrassing mistakes in our publications.
>>
>> Mistakes can be costly. Remember during Amini's time in Uganda, the
>> dictator had criticised a female MP, and so the paper splashed the following
>> morning "Amini rapes MP" when he meant "RAPS". I hear, he was killed at down
>> as he brushed his teeth in his house.
>>
>>
>> LUKE M
>>
>>
>> <em style="background-color:rgb(0, 0, 191);"><strong><font size="3"><span
>> style="text-decoration:underline;">WWW.SMARTBIZAFRICA.COM
>> Africa's No.1 Online Business Magazine
>> ...For Investors, Entrepreneurs, Managers, Marketers, CEOs, IT Experts, HR
>> & Finance Managers and Students.... Plus Stocks and Business News and Career
>> Guidance</span></font></strong></em><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="
>> http://www.smartbizafrica.com/"></a>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Catherine Adeya <elizaslider at yahoo.com>
>> *To:* luke <lmulunda at yahoo.com>
>>
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> *Sent:* Monday, October 10, 2011 10:18 AM
>>
>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Declining English grammar in our Newsprint
>>
>> James,
>> The PS has a point and I am not disputing yours either but I would simply
>> respond to your email below that generalizations is what has got us where we
>> are. Specificity can help more.....
>>
>> Nyaki
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* james ratemo <jratemo at gmail.com>
>> *To:* elizaslider at yahoo.com
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, October 4, 2011 11:16 PM
>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Declining English grammar in our Newsprint
>>
>> Bwana PS what are you insinuating? We open our newsrooms fro the so called
>> English majors? Some of them are in the newsrooms already...maybe they are
>> sleeping on the job...my opinion
>>
>> On Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 11:11 PM, <bitange at jambo.co.ke> wrote:
>>
>> All of today's newspapers had several grammatical errors.  At this time
>> and age of ICT, is it not too embarrasing to have such errors?  We have
>>  thousands of English majors without jobs.  It is time for media to be
>> thorough in what they do by utilizing our many graduates without jobs.  As a
>> Kenyan I get embarrased to see such errors.
>>
>> Ndemo.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my BlackBerry®
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga at hotmail.com>
>> Sender: kictanet-bounces+bitange=jambo.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> Date: Sun, 2 Oct 2011 13:32:57
>> To: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> Subject: [kictanet] GSMA: Calls will remain high between African countries
>>
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>>
>> --
>> James Ratemo
>> Online Sub-editor/ICT reporter
>> Nation Media Group,
>> P.O Box 49010-00100,
>> Nairobi
>> Cell Phone: 0724960649 OR 0731960649
>> Email: jratemo at ke.nationmedia.com <Emaili-jratemo at standardmedia.co.ke> or
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>>
>> Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? No one.
>>
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>>
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>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>
>
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> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for
> people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>

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