Names in cutlines

Semi-serious question here. Are there really people on desks so dense that they don't compare the names between cutline and article? There have to be some because one of the local papers continually botches this.

And yes, it's often the photog's screw-up to begin with.

 

Just a matter of not enough staff, so communication breaks down and things don't get double-checked as often as they once did.

The photographer tags the photo, puts it in the system, but is then off on an assignment and doesn't get a chance to glance at the page to make sure the cutline passed through unharmed.

 

Photographers are often terrible spellers, too.

 

All the more reason to check the stuff.

 

I'm having a hard time with some of this these days.

Because I used to work there and love the place and pay for a paper, I sometimes hit my local paper hard about what I think are misjudgments on my Facebook page and Twitter. It's almost like a hobby or ritual now. Take it for what it's worth and what it says about me, and my use of time.

But I always slam the paper for the result of what has to be errors in judgment at the upper levels, or the result of overall policy and shared pages and things like that. So story play, missing stories, coverage decisions are fair game.

What I'll never criticize a modern paper for now in a public forum: typos, mismatched jumps, bad scores in headlines, things like that -- or something like this.

It's not that the point isn't completely valid. It's that there ARE resource issues, and I don't want to slam the pool souls who are doing the best they can with half the people they used to have.

Yeah, they should match cutlines and story copy -- but maybe in the midst of 78 other forest fires, they just didn't have the time.

 

^

 

Quite true. Once in a while I have to explain that to my boss who works daytime hours and isn't under the gun at night.

 

At my previous stop, when the news editor retired, I suggested she find "something to do" so she wouldn't become one of those people who calls in all the time finding mistakes. During the remainder of my time there, she only did that once, on a story that was so botched, we did deserve it.

At the same time, though, we sent a shooter out to the most remote school in our area to get a photo for the all-county team. Takes the photo at the school stadium with the school nickname in the background. And the cutline comes in with the wrong school ...

 

So well said. These issues happen, and no one feels good about them when they do.

There's also a big difference between misspelling the last name of the local BCS Conference football coach and misspelling the name of the sixth man on the fourth-best area boys' basketball team.

But any case is almost certainly an issue of staffing and time allotment, and nothing is accomplished by making a big deal about it. If you see something worthy of an actual printed correction, email the desk or editor. No need for snark.

 

Not sure why the post about readers noticing this stuff was zapped. Because they do.

Anyway, carry on with the excuses.

 

Martin, have you ever worked a shift on a copy desk?