I Wonder if Newspapers Have Considered Using Proofreaders???

When making comments dismissive of blogs, newspapers usually point to their layers of fact checkers. The problem with that line of attack is the frequency of errors they make in their reporting. Most of their errors stem either from their inherent biases causing slanting of a story or from their ignorance leading to their accepting as fact statements that are far from proven. However, this post is about the volume of mistakes that could be avoided simply by hiring (and using) proofreaders. I could probably cite hundreds of examples. A couple weeks ago the Cincinnati Enquirer had a story about the finding of the body of a murdered census worker in Kentucky. In the article they said his body was found around 50 years from his truck. I assume, they intended to say 50 yards from his truck unless his truck was found during the Eisenhower administration. Here is an example from today's Cleveland Plain Dealer:

What if Ben Roethlisberger played for the Browns:Cleveland Browns morning news roundup

October 14, 2009, 8:15AM

The CantonRep.com plays the what if game when it comes to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. What if Roethlisberger played for the Steelers?

What do they mean "What if he played for the Steelers?" He does play for the Steelers. Obviously, the writer intended to ask "What if Roethlisberger played for the Browns? This one is almost excusable since the writer had to check several times to make sure he spelled the player's difficult name correctly.

Separately, to answer the Roethlisberger question, if drafted by the Browns he would have been poorly coached and left to wallow behind a substandard offensive line and likely injured and out of football by now.