When in Doubt, Blame it on a Hacker
By Allan Holmes | Thursday, January 17, 2008 | 04:53 PM
By Allan Holmes | Thursday, January 17, 2008 | 04:53 PM
Charlotte, N.C., mayor Pat McCrory sent out an email news release this week announcing his candidacy for governor of North Carolina. The only problem was that in the letterhead in the email, governor was spelled "governer," according to an article in The News and Observer in Raleigh, N.C.
When contacted by a reporter asking about the misspelling, Victoria Smith, McCrory's campaign manager, said a hacker broke into the campaign's computer system and changed the spelling. Later a campaign spokeswoman said it was a simple mistake made by a tired graphic designer. Smith later stuck to the hacker story. Finally McCrory himself put an end to the mystery: He said it was a simple mistake by the graphic designer.
Hat tip: Wired
Comments
Whether government or private sector, a graphic designer does not write copy, but merely ensures that it looks good on a page. Pinning spelling on adesigner is plain wrong. The writer (first) editor (second) and proofreader (last) are responsible to ensure that text is well-written and correct as to grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. If the writing's main purpose is factual, rather than merely opinion-based, a fact-checker has the last level of responsibility, that of accuracy.
tpb100 | Friday, January 18, 2008 | 01:45 PMABOUT THIS BLOG
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