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4/11/2015 6:38 am  #1


Artie, you might appreciate this

http://gawker.com/news-employees-mock-angry-woman-for-pointing-out-error-1697107703

Ever received a call where someone was aggressively stupid and belligerent? About two years ago, the local American Legionnaires opened up a new hall in my hometown. As part of it, they held a posthumous Purple Heart ceremony for a man that died in World War II and they presented it to his brother, though the Purple Heart would reside at the new hall. Well, the lady who organized it (Sheila) was a cousin of this family. She had done the legwork in getting the Purple Heart and spoke at the ceremony.

In the paper, I wrote the Purple Heart was presented to the man's brother. I made it ambiguous since he wouldn't actually be keeping it. A day after the paper comes out, Sheila calls me up and yells at me for a good 10 minutes about how I never once mentioned her, all the hard work she did and how it was ridiculous that I talked about the dead soldier's brother because they didn't care enough to try and get the Purple Heart. We argued about the defintion of "present" for a good 10 minutes, with me explaining that just because something is presented doesn't mean it's necessarily given to. Obviously that's what people were left with the impression of, but in print form I figured it would look stupid to say "Purple Heart shown to brother of dead soldier, local old lady does great work in getting it issued."

Last edited by tkihshbt (4/11/2015 6:39 am)

4/11/2015 12:46 pm  #2


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

I don't get confrontational when someone complains about something I've written because there's not much I can do about it after it's in print. If I've made an obvious error, I'll apologize for it and offer to run a correction. I don't have the patience anymore to stay on the phone and argue about simple grammar and spelling rules with idiots like the one in the Gawker story you linked to.
Speaking of corrections, I wrote a story a few years ago about a local miscreant who started shooting at people when a drug deal went bad during a party. He was arrested and charged with about a dozen different things. As often happens, once the DA's office got the case, they dropped an attempted murder and a couple of other weapons-related charges because they would have been difficult to prove in court since the witnesses were afraid of this kid and wouldn't testify. So the kid called me up and demanded a correction. It read something like this: "In a previous edition of the paper, it was reported that (suspect's name, age and address) was arrested and charged with a series of felonious offenses. Some of them have been dropped, but charges of possession of a class B substance with the intent to distribute, trafficking cocaine, conspiracy to violate the controlled substance laws, and the sale of narcotics near a drug-free school zone or park are still pending. The paper apologizes for any confusion that may have resulted for the reader." 
I didn't hear back from the kid again.

Last edited by artie_fufkin (4/11/2015 12:48 pm)

4/11/2015 12:56 pm  #3


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

LOL!

I'm pretty stubborn, so I'll sit there and argue back and forth until I tire out. One time a guy tried to tell me that I wasn't giving equal coverage to the girls basketball team as the boys. I went and found that of the 15 issues that ran during basketball season, the girls were the lead story eight times and the boys seven times. Even when confronted with this he still thought it was unequal. I asked him what I could do different and he hung up on me.

There's a lot of shoplifting attempts from the local Walmart. Some of them result in a summons. Some get turned into a misdemeanor. I would say one out of every 20 or so dispute it with our paper. Usually when they call to complain it's because they know their boss is going to find out and fire them at the local factory. 

     Thread Starter

4/11/2015 1:14 pm  #4


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

Yeah, people who ask for their names to be kept out of the police log is one of our most frequent requests. If someone calls and is reasonable, I simply tell them it's the policy of the paper and if they have an issue with that they can speak to my editor. If they're indignant, I tell them I'm willing to follow their case through the adjudicatory process.
I once got an angry phone call from a guy who was arrested for domestic assault and battery. He was accused of beating his wife so badly she ended up in the hospital. He didn't dispute the accuracy of the article, he just thought it was unfair there was a story in the first place. When I failed to exhibit the appropriate sympathy for him, he barked "I hope you never find yourself in my shoes!!!" I assured him I wouldn't, and hung up the phone.

Last edited by artie_fufkin (4/11/2015 1:40 pm)

4/11/2015 1:21 pm  #5


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

That's classic. 

     Thread Starter

4/11/2015 1:51 pm  #6


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

Acerbic corrections aside, one of the things I learned at my own peril early is sacrasm almost never plays well in the paper. Very early on in my career, I wrote a column about the dedication of a monument that looked like a phallic symbol at an industrial park. The column was so over-the-top sarcastic that I knew no one would take it seriously, but people did. The lesson I learned is people believe what the read in a newspaper, even if what they're reading are dick jokes.

4/11/2015 2:01 pm  #7


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

Oh, and we don't have a Wal-Mart, but we have a Target and I'd advise anyone who shoplifts not to try it there. I'd say we get 50 percent of our shoplifting arrest reports from Target. And another 49 percent is Kohl's.

Last edited by artie_fufkin (4/11/2015 2:01 pm)

4/11/2015 3:29 pm  #8


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

Where I'm from, Targets are only built if your community has a certain income threshhold. I grew up near a fairly sizable city that has a good amount of retail and fast food places, but the area is pretty poor, so you get a Walmart, a Penney's and some Dollar Stores. 

One half of the Walmart I grew up near is in a city and the other half is in a village that borders that city. Depending on which side you exited after committing a theft, you'd either deal with the city police or the county sheriff's office. The sheriff's office is usually the one that aggressively prosecutes you and the city slaps you with a low misdemeanor. 

     Thread Starter

4/11/2015 5:04 pm  #9


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

Loved the Gawker article. Reminds me of the time a woman at work told me she'd called a local TV station to complain because a news anchor said something like "Join Chris and me at 6 PM...". I had to break the bad news to her.

4/11/2015 5:15 pm  #10


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

J.C. Penney hasn't really made much of a dent in New England. There were too many similar regional department stores like Grant's and Ames and Zayre's that were just as cheap and more established locally. Then Wal-Mart and Target came in with even cheaper underwear, bypassing Penney's and putting the locals out of business.
 

4/11/2015 5:18 pm  #11


Re: Artie, you might appreciate this

JV wrote:

Loved the Gawker article. Reminds me of the time a woman at work told me she'd called a local TV station to complain because a news anchor said something like "Join Chris and me at 6 PM...". I had to break the bad news to her.

Yeah, that one can be a stumper. The guideline I always used is sounding out the sentence without the first noun. If the anchor said "Join me at 6 p.m. ..." it wouldn't have raised an eyebrow hair.
 

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