Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Real Editors Check the Math

When running a shoestring operation, it seems there's no time to check facts or do math. This morning's rant (Letters to the Editor) comes from a guy who slipped a couple of digits but no one on the newspaper's editorial or copy desks bothered to check. Incensed by "bailout funding," our citizen-watchdog claims he "sat down with a pencil and paper and divided 1 trillion by 300 million (the country's population) and calculated $30,000 plus for every man, woman and child in this country." Sorry Bud. That would be $3,333. This simple math error has been circulating in e-mails and blog rants for going on six months now. But no one at the Sun noticed -- or bothered to count the zeroes.

2 comments:

  1. Since Sun "editors" can't edit (or write), I guess asking them to double-check math is just asking way too much. It really boils down to a pervasive culture of apathy and laziness, with more than a dash of ineptitude thrown in.

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