From the Grammar Police

Get it write!

Luke: Follow proper sentence structure you must! This headline says a retirement will allow the governor to pick a judge but won’t let him pick voters. It’s an easy fix! Retirement/in Aug. lets/ DeSantis,/not voters,/pick judge. And it still fits the headline space.

We’ve talked in the past about newspaper “style.” (Not to be confused with “Elements of Style.”) Newspapers create a series of rules for the sake of consistency and clarity. Not about wrong or right but about good vs. better. Here, the rule is: national border, state line, county line, city limit.

Since a veteran is a former member of the military, those who died in combat technically weren’t veterans. And, sadly, never will be. NOTE: This is a minor infraction. But it gives the Horribly Wrong team an excuse to again remind all of the true meaning of Memorial Day.

So many times we’ve talked about omitting redundant and unnecessary words.

And we go to the video archives! Click for Segment 9: Bad TV. https://youtu.be/kzdsMO2c7h0?si=sdQKN3BpeJAHtCxs

Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong" features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police.” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, menus, TV news graphics, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we can credit you properly. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com

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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!