Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

[lorider]

I have only read it about 57 times, but so far I'm pretty sure it says:

"More Than 100 pledge allegiance U.S. grade A citizens."

help.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ap...507070330/1001

[Palolo Joe]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

Probably a screw-up by the web guys... looks like the hed is "More Than 100 Pledge Allegiance," with the series of photographs having their own headline ("U.S. Grade A Citizens"). Or, the "Grade A" stuff is from the web edition's front page and not meant for the actual story.

You'll get your answer if you check the print edition. Anyone have one? I only subscribe to the Star-Bulletin.

[lorider]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

Probably, but it's amazing that it's lasted all day. I think I love it so much because usually you can make one change and understand where the mistake was made. Not this time. Try it. Take out any word you like. Add any punctuation mark , anywhere you choose, and it still makes no sense whatsoever. It's like they mated a story about citizenship with something about beef, lol.

[Palolo Joe]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

Well, if nobody tells the web guys about it, how is it supposed to get fixed?

They just did an overhaul of the Advertiser's online edition. There are probably bigger problems to worry about right now.

The screwup isn't about a missing word in a headline. It's about TWO different headlines. That's why it makes no sense.

Want it to make sense? Draw a line between "More Than 100 Pledge Allegiance" and "Grade A U.S. Citizens." The former applies to the main story. The latter applies to the series of pictures of new citizens.

Makes sense to me.

[lorider]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

whatever. I just thought it was funny. I'm sure there's some explanation. There always is. At least you're consistently understanding when it comes to the failings of journalists, I'll give you that.

[lorider]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

btw, any thoughts on the redesign? I think they could have been more ambitious, but it looks better, and I suppose that's enough.

[kimo55]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

What puzzles my old feeble brain is how and why brand new '"citizens" are labelled 'grade A'.
Whtat da hellzat make me; an amuricun for almost 50 years!?
grade C?
Z even!?
and why the meat industry measurement of quality?!

inquiring minds want to know.
or not.

[lavagal]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

What puzzles my old feeble brain is how and why brand new '"citizens" are labelled 'grade A'.
Whtat da hellzat make me; an amuricun for almost 50 years!?
grade C?
Z even!?
and why the meat industry measurement of quality?!

inquiring minds want to know.
or not.

Aw come on Kimo. It's so they can cut it out and go scrapbooking for their grand kids! That and maybe it was a copy desk intern who got to write it!

[Palolo Joe]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

Hey, it IS summer... does the Advertiser employ interns on the copy desk?

Lorider is right about the redesign not being very ambitious. I do like how they added the section links at the top of the page though. Makes it easier to navigate the site.

[lavagal]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

[QUOTE=Palolo Joe]Hey, it IS summer... does the Advertiser employ interns on the copy desk? QUOTE]

In my day the interns rotated around the newsroom. Back then the news editor thought it was a fine idea to have an intern fill in for vacationing copy editors. I'm not sure the copy desk agreed. Usually there is a dedicated photo intern. I wonder, newsrooms have evolved, and maybe they have interns spending time in the virtual newsroom as well posting stories, updating the site. who knows?

[kimo55]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

[QUOTE=lavagal]

Hey, it IS summer... does the Advertiser employ interns on the copy desk? QUOTE]

In my day the interns rotated around the newsroom.

ah yes; the Whirling Dervishes Temp Service. They saved my ass many a time.

[buzz1941]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

Web guys know how to cut and paste, and they think that's called "editing"

[Rudy Tuesday]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

U.S. grade A citizens?

Soylent green is people!

[pzarquon]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

btw, any thoughts on the redesign? I think they could have been more ambitious, but it looks better, and I suppose that's enough.

It looks like the "redesign" was more architecture/infrastructure related than cosmetic. The drop-down menus are neat enough, but that's just more code for browsers to crunch. It's obvious that the workflow got a whole lot simpler - I'd bet the headline error is not the result of cutting and pasting, but of a missed tag somewhere in the automated porting of content from the Advertiser's editorial system to the web one. Looks like they're now using the automated Publicus system (which is used by tons of other newspapers) to manage their online content, rather than the built-from-the-ground-up semi-manual process they had before.

This means no more simple URLs with the intuitive /2005/Jun/07/il structure and static HTML pages. Everything is database driven, yanked through a Windows DLL, and pushed on the page dynamically. Instead of il02a.html, it's AID=/20050708/NEWS01/507080366.

At least they didn't commit the cardinal sin of a conversion like this -- so far, at least, permalinks to older content still work.

But now that a machine does this straight out of the copy/typesetting system, I wonder how many coders -- cut-and-pasters or web wizards alike -- will be out of a job? And I wonder how many other robotic mistakes we can look forward to?

[mel]

Re: Can someone please explain this header from today's Advertiser?

While I don't know for sure, I suspect the Advertiser is using new, longer URLs to prevent us from linking to the stories in the long term. If I remember correctly, their archived items older than 3 months, you have to pay for it. I think with the old system, as long as you had the direct URL (and many people link to direct page URLs on their websites and blogs), you can access the old content for free.

Of course I am just thinking like a conspiracy theorist.