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Media Matters
Nov. 14, 2002
Details, Details...
By Jeffrey A. Dvorkin
Ombudsman
National Public Radio
NPR has a reputation for thoughtful and articulate radio journalism. Even so, at NPR, mistakes get made -- some of them serious errors of fact. NPR has instituted a policy of acknowledging corrections in a timely manner -- both on the air and on the NPR Web site: http://www.npr.org/corrections/index.html.
But like all media, there are smaller, less egregious errors. NPR doesn't always acknowledge these, but our eagle-eared listeners do and they are quick to run to the computer to point them out. Some recent examples:
"...I heard an NPR report that referred to the 'first-year anniversary' of some event. I do not understand how professional journalists can write or say 'first-year anniversary.'"
Gould B. Hagler, Jr.
"Split infinitives are used more and more in today's society, but they are still grammatically incorrect. Today at the noon news brief, I heard the newscaster say '...to better train poll workers.' This is just one example, the one I heard today. 'Better' should not be inserted in the infinitive 'to train'."
Karen Dunn
"I'd like to comment on the pronunciation of 'Beijing,' the name of the capital city of China. Many of your announcers pronounce the j like a French j. That's not only pretentious, but it's actually bending over backwards to be wrong. The correct pronunciation is simply like the j in 'jingle bells.'
By the way, who started this idiotic mistake, anyway?"
Lensey Namioka
"I am interested in any comments you may have about the use of the word 'there's.' Clearly, there has been widespread misuse (I believe) of this word with plural subjects, e.g. 'There's many people who...' I find it troubling that I've heard this usage from NPR correspondents. Do you have a policy on it or is it gaining acceptance?"
George C. Gardiner
"In your story of the film Ararat, (the reviewer) 'quotes' a passage from Mein Kampf: 'Who remembers the Armenians?' There is no such statement in that book."
Rod Paolini
"Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles is not the first cathedral built in the United States in the last 25 years as you reported. The first cathedral built in the new millenium is Our Lady of Guadalupe, built in the diocese of Dodge City in Dodge City, Kansas."
Ellen Peters
"I have always felt that NPR was a station that delivered its message to the educated masses. However, lately I am beginning to believe that the message is being sent by the uneducated. I would like to be able to identify one correspondent but I cannot because I have yet to hear a single NPR correspondent who pronounces a year correctly.
The proper way to speak a year is:
2001 is spoken two thousand one.
The improper way:
2001 is not to be spoken two thousand and one.
Leave the and out."
William Tighe
"I have heard the word 'brouhaha' mentioned and discussed several times over the last few months on NPR and thought you might be interested in this tidbit from my word origin calendar: Brouhaha: This term referring to a noisy argument comes from France and first appeared in English in the first half of the 20th century. One theory of its origin in French points to a passage from the Torah in Hebrew. Frequently recited in synagogues, barukh habba translates as 'blessed be he who enters,' suggesting that it was the sound of the words, not the meaning, that inspired the new use."
Teresa Elliott
"Please let the (reporter) who produced the story on the Library in Alexandria know the word 'library' is not pronounced 'libury'. The story was wonderful, but I had trouble listening to it with her consistent mispronunciation of one of the more important words in her story."
Jill Smith
"On (your) ...news broadcast, (you) referred to a 'call up of soldiers and National Guardsmen.' Correct reference is 'Reservists and National Guardsmen' Also, you said the U.S. had two 'battleships' in the Middle East and two more on the way. The United States Navy does not have any battleships in commission at this time. You probably were referring to aircraft carriers. Trust me: I recently retired from the Naval Reserve, having served over 30 years."
SKCM Paul Colwell USNR-RET
"Why doesn't NPR identify the politics of the various Washington, D.C., think-tanks? It would be very helpful to me as a listener to know where these experts are coming from."
Cheryl Fellman
"Please ask Bob Edwards to identify the people whose birthdays he announces. Those folks may be household names to Bob but they aren't to me."
Jennifer Wright
"PLEASE tell your reporters that not only is 'centered round' grammatically incorrect... as any first-year physics student will attest, it is a physical impossibility. One 'centers on;' one 'revolves around.' Keep up the good work."
R. Jones
"Could you please talk to ALL of your announcers about the pronunciation of the words 'Appalachian' and 'Appalachia?' Bob Edwards seems to be the only one who knows how residents of the Southern Appalachians pronounce their name. You manage to get your announcers to say 'Buenos Eye-rees' quite beautifully -- why not 'Appa-latch-i-a?' We know the inhabitants of the northern mountains pronounce it 'Appa-lay-chia,' but that's no excuse. We don't.
Thanks,
Dale Volberg Reed
Those are some of the livelier (and more polite) missives. Listeners should know that even though their admonitions may not be acknowledged on the air or on the Web site, I forward all of them to the "offending" program and to NPR's broadcast librarian. That person is Kee Malesky. On a regular basis, she sends out a note to all staff. Malesky reminds journalists about correct usage, any grammatical lapses as well as mispronunciations of foreign names and places in the news and that she and I have detected and that the listeners have brought to our attention.
Even though NPR deals with the "big picture" about many issues, it's the little errors that many listeners also feel are important. Some of the issues raised by the listeners may be considered "picky," but if NPR gets the details right, it means that the rest of the reporting is also accurate.
Some of these issues -- especially about grammar (along with the many others I receive) -- are arguable. They should be. American English is an ever- changing, living expression -- even as it is guided by rules. Journalists in their all-too-frequent moments of exasperation might dismiss the message and the messenger by wondering if the e-mail sender (or the ombudsman) doesn't have anything better to do. But I can think of nothing better than for the listeners to be part of the process of getting it right.
The range of issues raised by the listeners indicates that the hearing of many in the audience is still sharp and subtle. NPR needs to make sure that the small stuff also gets the attention it deserves.
Listeners may contact me at 202-513-3246 or at ombudsman@npr.org.
Jeffrey Dvorkin
NPR Ombudsman
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