Nurturing the Language Is Part of the Job

One of the things that probably distinguishes those of us who get our news from the paper instead of the evening news is a love of language. Therefore, errors and sloppiness in The Times with respect to spelling and grammar disturb me.

This morning, I read (“A New Day Is Dawning for Morning Shows,” Aug. 10) that Paula Zahn and Harry Smith have been “scraped” by CBS. As an AFTRA member, I realize this would not only have been painful for the anchors but would surely engender a union grievance against the network. Your writer Steve Weinstein no doubt meant to convey that the anchors had been “scrapped.” Copy editors catch errors like these; spell-checking software will not.

Later, still on the same front page of your Calendar section, I read with amazement (“There’s Simply No Escape From the L.A. Jokes,” by Steven Smith) that an earthquake (instead of the city) had been made into a deportation camp. From the context, I conclude this is not an amazing coup by Hollywood special-effects artists, but another lapse of language by The Times.

Why do I care? As a child, I read the paper every day. I’m sure much of my ability in spelling and grammar is simple absorption by example. The Times is the paper of record for a great metropolis, and your use of language may come to define the best we can expect for and from new readers. The issue isn’t so much “correctness” as it is clarity, and resultant precision of expression.

How are articles for publication screened? May I, as a longtime subscriber, ask that more care be given to the nurturing of careful language?

KEVIN MCKEOWN

Santa Monica