Detected Errors

At least they're inconsistent

2012-01-30T18:49:00.000-08:00

The rule at Yahoo! appears to be to only add an apostrophe (and no S) when a name ends with S and the following word begins with a W. The exception to the rule is when a name ends with S and the following word begins with a W - that requires an apostrophe *and* an S. Got it? From the "News For You" sidebar on Yahoo! Canada News on January 24, 2012.

A rare peak

2012-01-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

This is far from the first time I've seen peek misspelled in this fashion, but peek misspelled in this fashion without it following sneak is a rare sighting. From the MSN Canada homepage on January 27, 2012. Click the image to enlarge it.

You're a P short

2012-01-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

This on-screen graphic - featuring several misspellings of anthropomorphizes - occurred during The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on January 10, 2012.

24 hours Vancouverrors

2012-01-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent errors made by the staff at 24 hours Vancouver. First up, 33-year-old required hyphens in "Heigl keen to adopt again" on January 17, 2012. Then,

affect should have been effect in this sentence from "The bare truth: Showing skin at work not a good idea" on January 23, 2012. Then,

on January 25, 2012, the name was Biddlecombe throughout the article ("Serial killer warning quashed"), but an E got added on final mention. Then,

why did this teaser on the newspaper's front page on January 26, 2012, tell readers that there is only one beach in New Zealand? That the should have been an a. Then,

nobody puts the BC Coroners Service in a corner. From the newspaper's homepage on January 27, 2012. Then,

the first the should have been spotted and removed from this sentence in "Gratuity gripes hit tipping point" on January 27, 2012. Finally,

LMFAO is properly all capped in the headline then all wrong in the first sentence of "Madonna with LMFAO?" on January 27, 2012.

There's an error in view

2012-01-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

I can understand when misspellings occur and a wrong word appears in an article, but when a misspelling results in a published nonword, that is pure carelessness. From "B.C. ferry report demands changes" on CBC News online on January 24, 2012.

Of words and errors

2012-01-29T19:43:00.000-08:00

Left untouched, this sentence (from "Facebook Timeline mandatory rollout: You have 7 days to scour your past" on Yahoo! Canada News on January 24, 2012) contains an extra word. Click the image to enlarge it.

Use your PIN number to take $10,000 dollars out of the ATM machine

2012-01-29T17:34:00.000-08:00

It should come as no surprise to anyone, including professional journalists, that the dollar sign ($) represents the word dollar(s). Therefore, having both the dollar sign and the word dollars is redundant. From the final sentence of "Teen's death still unsolved 1 year later" on CBC News online on January 22, 2012. Click the image to enlarge it.

Tormented by bad writing

2012-01-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

If the word children is plural, then what is the word childrens? Trick question - it's not a word. That apostrophe should be before the S. From "Blinded by the light" on the front page of Metronews Vancouver on January 13, 2012.

Who think's this is correct?

2012-01-26T19:13:00.000-08:00

At least one person at CBC actually thinks that an apostrophe belongs in thinks. All I can say to that one person is, Oh honey. From "TransLink tables new fare increase" on CBC News online on January 10, 2012. Today is January 26 and the error is still there. Click the image to enlarge it.

Skimming is not the exactly the same as proofreading

2012-01-26T18:46:00.000-08:00

There is one the too many in this sentence from "Facebook's newest frontier: inside the car" on Yahoo! Canada News on January 9, 2012. The the that does not belong is the one between not and exactly. Click the image to enlarge it.

Canbucks versus Hurrianes

2012-01-26T18:31:00.000-08:00

In this player note for Cory Schneider (from Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Hockey on December 15, 2011), Hurricanes is missing its C and Canucks gained a B. Then,

in early January, the player note for Jonathan Quick made reference to a specific game he played against the Kings, and mentions 16 total games in which he's battled the Kings. The problem? As of the writing of this sentence on January 26, 2012, every single NHL game Quick has played in has been for the Kings.

Don't upset the bride

2012-01-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

The headline of the article ("Defence Minister Peter MacKay shares photo of recent intimate wedding" on Yahoo! Canada News on January 9, 2012) and the article itself both focus on the release, and content of, a single wedding picture. Yet in the photo caption of said single wedding picture, the bride's name is misspelled. Her first name is Nazanin.

FAILING - FAILING - FAILING

2012-01-24T20:34:00.000-08:00

I was reading an article on Yahoo! Canada Finance when the "Top Stories" portion of the sidebar caught my eye. I clicked the link to the top story and got taken to this article. After reading the entire article twice, I'm still trying to answer the who-what-when-where-why of it all. Answering even one of the five Ws would suffice.

Alfonso's last name does not rhyme with cheerio

2012-01-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

If Alfonso Ribeiro is an egomaniac he may be gunning for the writer of this article. From "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Star Janet Hubert Slams "Egomaniac" Will Smith" on Yahoo! Canada OMG! on December 27, 2011.

Seeing double

2012-01-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

It's the opening paragraph of the article ("What does Louis CK’s $5 video mean for the future of online media?" on Yahoo! Canada News on December 26, 2011), and there is an obvious error. What did the writer earn earn from the gaffe? Walking papers? Click the image to enlarge it.

You or fired

2012-01-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

Really? Misspelling or as are? Really? This is the final sentence of "Video reveals 2 possible B.C. homicide witnesses" on CBC News online on December 22, 2011. (Since the time of obtaining the screen capture, the headline has been changed to "Suspect vehicle seized in slain Surrey teen case".)

Sooo, there are 8 bedrooms?

2012-01-23T20:42:00.000-08:00

There are four easily accessible bedrooms in this $88M apartment, according to "Billionaire's Daughter Pays Record Sum for NYC Pad" on Yahoo! Canada Finance on December 20, 2011. And then, once you meander past a few words and a couple of commas, there are four more bedrooms. Click the image to enlarge it.

This Yahoo! writer must be a has-been

2012-01-23T20:28:00.000-08:00

This is the first sentence from the article ("Here's What 2016 Will Look Like, Says IBM" on Yahoo! Canada Finance on December 19, 2011), and the word has has no business being there. Click the image to enlarge it.

Dot the I's and include all the T's

2012-01-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

This misspelling of Coquitlam Station ( from "Man in critical condition after stabbing in Coquitlam, B.C." on CBC News online on December 15, 2011) is the first sentence of the article. Later in the article,

TransLink is not capitalized properly each time it's written. Click an image to enlarge it.

You're writing stinks! Let me help you!

2012-01-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

This is one side of a flyer from Keller Williams Elite Realty flyer that arrived in our mailbox on December 14, 2011. Firstly, the first your should be you're. Secondly, I think the first exclamation mark should be a comma. Or change the first sentence to, Are you thinking of selling your house?, and the second one to, If so, let me help you!

Write it, then proofread it

2012-01-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

I've had this one for a while, but I just never got around to posting it until now. I'm a fan of Amazing Race, but I'm not a fan of the above question that was on the bio for every team on the most recent season. Click the image to enlarge it.

Yahoo! December 2011

2012-01-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

It's that time again: here are the errors seen on the Yahoo! Canada homepage during December 2011. So few! So very few! I don't know if Yahoo! was more on the ball and reduced errors significantly or if I was not on the ball and missed a lot of errors, but I have only two errors from the entire month! First, on December 7, sing should have been sign, and there should have been an apostrophe in drivers' attention. Then,

someone dropped an extra E into listeners on December 29. Huh, I guess that makes it three errors, since the first screen capture was a 2-in-1 special. See you next time!

24 hours Vancouverrors

2011-12-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

A few errors to share from 24 hours Vancouver earlier this month. On the newspaper's front page on December 9, someone got creative with (and I would hope disciplined for) the spelling of becoming. Then,

in "Timbits more famous than Canucks: Poll" in the same day's paper, there should not have been a hyphen in physcially challenging, and the show is Survivor. Then,

I saw this bit on SNL and can tell you with absolute certainty that Alec Baldwin's character said, "Alec Baldwin is an American treasure". From "Baldwin jokes about flight on SNL" online on December 11. Then,

was anyone at 24 hours Vancouver embarrassed at the nonword that appeared in this headline on December 14? Then,

women should have been woman in "VPD searches for links to mom slaying" on December 16. Finally,

confidant should have been confident in "A bizarre tradition is better than no tradition" on December 22. Click an image to enlarge it.

Representing CBC quality

2011-12-27T12:55:00.001-08:00

From the photo caption at the top of the article ("Federal NDP leadership hopefuls face off at B.C. forum" on CBC News online on December 11, 2011), delagates should be delegates.

Do who?

2011-12-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

The word you is missing from this question from "Web poll nation" in The Vancouver Courier on December 2, 2011. Can you figure out where it should go?

CBC British Columbia homepagerrors

2011-12-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

A few errors to share from the CBC British Columbia homepage during the second half of November 2011. On November 18 an R was missing from Armstrong, and the second comma and the second period in Armstrong, B.C., got swapped. Then,

on November 22, it might soon could become made (and still makes) my mind do loop-de-loops. Then,

on November 25, got their first snow overnight Thursday morning doesn't make much sense, especially when also talking about the effect it had on Friday morning's commute. I think the morning after Thursday should have been uninvited. Click an image to enlarge it.

A type of lava

2011-12-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

One type of lava is aa. You may ask yourself, 'Why is that relevant?' Well, maybe the writer of this article ("Clothing found in Nevada could belong to missing B.C. man" on CBC News online on December 6, 2011) had volcanic eruptions on his mind. First there's the opening sentence, where the second a should be of, and then,

five sentences later, the second a in a a DNA test should not be present. One wrong a plus another wrong a equals aa. The article had already been updated at least once when I detected these errors, yet both errors - including that obvious one just three words in - went undetected at CBC. Click an image to enlarge it.

Yahooooooooooo! November 2011

2011-12-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

It's time once again for a monthly roundup of errors from the Yahoo! Canada homepage. This time we look at the blunders that were made during November 2011. First up, on November 5, the word in had no right to be included. Then,

November 8 saw a misspelling of Michelle and Jim Bob's last name. It's too bad the writer didn't simply copy and paste the headline from the actual article (which features the correct spelling of Duggar). Then,

there was a certain news item on November 9 that Yahoo! really wanted you to see. Later that same day,

what does it mean to be umarried? Did Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie get married in a U-Haul truck? Then,

there was a ridiculous hear/here homophonic error on November 19. Then,

on November 24 Yahoo! proved that they could use another (or a first) proofreader of any age. Maybe even a 51-year-old. The article's headline is also wrong. Then,

fisherman should have been fishermen on November 25. Then,

on November 26 the word to didn't go far enough - it should have been too. Then,

on November 28, the guy's name is Russell Williams, not Russell William. Why didn't the Yahoo! writer just copy and paste the exact correct headline? After all, the rest of it is identical. Then,

on November 29, there should not have been any hyphens in 41 years old. And finally,

this thoughtless misspelling of thoughtful was seen on November 30. The story of the gift is fantastic. Click an image to enlarge it.

I see an error errors

2011-12-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

The other does not belong. From "Vancouver hospital parking fees defended by administrators" on CBC News online on November 29, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Two A or not two A?

2011-12-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

Doug's last name first appears as Vaughan (in "NBC apologizes to Bachmann for Fallon show intro song" on Yahoo! Canada News on November 25, 2011) before

dropping an A three paragraphs later. Which one is the correct spelling? I have no idea. Click an image to enlarge it.

Wrong twice in two different ways

2011-12-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

I would like to hear the writer's reason for including just one hyphen in 81-year-old before leaving both hyphens out of 75-year-old. From "Seniors' drug operation busted in Prince George" on CBC News online on November 25, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Take more care, eh

2011-12-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

This is the largest part of a full-page advertisement (for PlayNow.com of British Columbia Lottery Corporation) that was placed in front of the front page of 24 hours Vancouver on November 25, 2011. Someone gave away an A. Then,

a few pages into that day's paper (in "It's snow time for local ski mountains") it's should have been its. Click an image to enlarge it.

Condensed badness

2011-11-30T18:36:00.000-08:00

This article ("The F stands for fighting" in Metronews Vancouver on November 21, 2011) starts out on the wrong foot with a homophonic error: they're should be their. Then, everyday should be separated into every day both times. Then, The Washington Post should either be written in italics or feature quotation marks. Finally, is the bandmate's name Sky Blu or Sky Blue? It can't be both.

Blue is my favorite colour

2011-11-30T18:24:00.000-08:00

In Canada, centimetres is the correct spelling. In any country, always avoid using the -er and -re spellings in the same article (and especially just three words apart). From "Storm cancels BC Ferries main routes" on CBC News online on November 24, 2011.

Question time!

2011-11-30T18:13:00.000-08:00

There are four words ending with -ing in the above sentence - can you determine which one should end instead with -ed? From "Parachuting hijacker's cash in B.C., sleuth says" on CBC News online on November 24, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Peek into a dictionary

2011-11-30T18:02:00.000-08:00

In this context, peak should be peek. From the subject line of an email from Total Rewards of Caesars Entertainment on November 23, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

An error

2011-11-30T17:48:00.000-08:00

Most people - and all professional writers - would recognize that an necropsy should be a necropsy. From "Second giraffe dies at B.C. zoo" on CBC News online on November 20, 2011.

Your error is now here !!

2011-11-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

While walking through Whistler Village on November 12, 2011, I saw this sign in the window of Whistler Bungee. Photos should not have an apostrophe. Click the image to enlarge it.

Resorts may be open but critical eyes aren't

2011-11-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

The plural of the singular resort is not resort - it's resorts. That's from the second sentence in "West coast ski season opens early" on CBC News online on November 18, 2011. Then,

three paragraphs later there is a misspelling of centimetres. Click an image to enlarge it.

Hard to read

2011-11-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

The company is BC Ferries. There are no initials, and it is plural. From "BC Ferry hits dock in Nanaimo" on CBC News online on November 18, 2011. Then,

this is a disastrous start to a sentence. Most is missing its S, and I see that the I and C in vehicles have swapped places. Click an image to enlarge it.

Factual extras

2011-11-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

The first error in this article ("1st snow hits parts of Metro Vancouver" on CBC News on November 18, 2011) is that the 99 B-line buses are not trolleys. None of them ever have been. As an aside, when I captured these errors, the first word of the headline was First, not 1st. Making that change seems trivial - does anyone know if there's any important reason why that change would take place? It may seem like a trivial question, but I'm genuinely curious. Then,

there is one and too many here. Though I like the look of and and and when you include the end of island. It's like an echo. Island and and and and...

Several reasons

2011-11-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

I think one of the reasons the student is there is to learn the difference between your and you're. I'm going to make an educated guess that the captions in the video are done by NBC Philadelphia, because there's no indication on the NBC Philadelphia article's page ("VIDEO: Teacher Unloads on Special Needs Student" on NBC Philadelphia on November 17, 2011) that the video was done by anybody else.

What a coincidence

2011-11-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Coincidentally, the writer of this article ("Vancouver airport plane crash co-pilot dies" on CBC News online on November 17, 2011) was just 13 years old when s/he decided to forever ignore the rules of correct hyphen usage. Click the image to enlarge it.

Assassinate the proofreader

2011-11-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

This misspelling of Assassin's Creed was on the MSN Canada homepage on November 15, 2011.

Hejduk is team caption

2011-11-23T18:37:00.000-08:00

It's a nonword in a headline! It'd been a while since I last checked the pages of 24 hours Vancouver, but it appears the folks there are still at it. What's "it"? Shoddy journalism, or at least crappy proofreading. From "Hejduk named Avs' captian" on November 15, 2011.

When is an error not an error?

2011-11-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

When is an error not an error? When it's a finger. More on that in a moment. The first error in this article ("Ashton Kutcher Hands Over Twitter Account to Management" on Yahoo! Canada OMG! on November 10, 2011) is the extra over. The first over, immediately preceding the quote, should be removed. Then,

the article ends with this monstrosity of a sentence. There is no reason for the colon to be there, but that's nothing compared to what the writer claims was pointed at Kutcher's face. An error? An error?! How can an error be pointed at someone's face? Okay, okay, so they meant arrow. That's a typing error, but whatever, right? Wrong, the photo that Kutcher tweeted is included at the top of the article and here it is:

That's no arrow, folks. That's a finger. A friggin' finger. Click an image to enlarge it.

Yahoooooooooooooooo! October 2011

2011-11-18T19:56:00.001-08:00

Whoa. Is it already November 18? Yes it is, and I am finally posting the errors I detected on the Yahoo! Canada homepage during October 2011. Let's make like a bunny and hop to it. First up, someone wrote written wrong on October 7. Next,

also on October 7, the apostrophe was in the correct place in Evan Rachel Wood's name at the top, but was in the incorrect place on the right. Click here for proof that it wasn't a link to pics of Tiger's hair. Then,

on October 8 the word the should not have been included and easy-to-use needed hyphens. Then,

later that same day, the word is was out of place. Then,

October 11 saw several errors. Why was there a period after the N and not a period after the Z? Then,

perhaps the writer got confused with the close proximity of death ("death is near!"), but heath should be health. Then,

the last error on October 11 was this redundancy that I saw on October 11. Both links went to the same story. Next up,

on October 15, I had an inkling of what this jumble of words meant, but to be sure I clicked to the article. When I did,

I found out that a Vancouver restaurant is a joke. I would have thought the standing-while-peeing ban was the joke, but that's not what the above headline claims. And,

it's also not what this paragraph from the article claims. Weird. Moving on,

on October 17 there was news about Tim Hortons. What I get from the above is that some Tim Hortons employees are telling the soup that it looks really good. And they're digging the soup's new shirt. The article featured the correct word: complement. Then,

on October 22, someone didn't know that Steve's last name was Jobs, not Job. Then,

on October 25 someone was an I short in spelling religious. Then,

on October 28 there was another problem involving an apostrophe and Steve's last name. Then,

on October 29 there was this. I think the best fix is to insert a hyphen to make it killed in on-set explosion scene. Finally,

on Halloween, there were several errors. First, I think this should start as The singer's attempt. Then,

there was a hilarious misspelling of abandoned. And,

last but not least, there was a swapping of the first two vowels in what should be customer. Click an image to enlarge it.

Maybe they're just new

2011-11-18T19:45:00.000-08:00

How does he know the bag guys don't like him? Is it because they're always putting the heavy milk cartons on top of his fresh bread? From "More B.C. Mounties complain of harassment" on CBC News online on November 8, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Waiting for a fix

2011-11-10T22:02:00.000-08:00

The second sentence of this article ("Occupy Vancouver protest wins overnight reprieve" on CBC News online on November 8, 2011) is missing the word time before to prepare his arguments. At least I think that's what the fix should be. The folks at CBC seem to think it's fine as-is, because at the time of the above screen capture the article had been updated at least once, with the most recent update occurring over 8 hours after the article's posting. Click the image to enlarge it.

CBC British Columbia homepagerrors

2011-11-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

Some errors to share. Shocking, right? This time it's four screen captures from the CBC British Columbia homepage. First up, from October 17, 2011, the apostrophe in fishermen's was in the wrong place. See where I put it? Yeah, that's the correct place. (It's also wrong in the article's first sentence.) Next,

also from October 17, 2011, the word on should have been included between Taser and an. Then,

on November 4, 2011, there was a misspelling of provincial. Finally,

seen today, writing the word dollar was redundant because the dollar symbol ($) had already been used.

From San to Zanne

2011-11-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

If the Metro Vancouver-focussed articles were written by someone in the Metro Vancouver area, I think the number of misspellings of Suzanne Anton's name would decrease dramatically. From "Vancouver seeks end of Occupy camp, not protest" on CBC News online on November 7, 2011.

... followed by a search for the proofreader

2011-11-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

The word search does not begin with a vowel sound, so an should be halved to a. From "Man shot dead in Vancouver" on CBC News online on November 6, 2011.

No article too short

2011-11-10T20:47:00.001-08:00

All articles, no matter the length, should be proofread before being posted. This opening sentence of a four-sentence article about a tragic incident ("Traffic death shuts eastbound Port Mann Bridge" on CBC News online on November 3, 2011) is missing a word - or two or three - after the word traffic. Also,

the photo caption has a nonword. The word is supposed to be tarpaulin.

Bad

2011-11-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

It should be either said Grant's spokeswoman in an e-mail or Grant's spokeswoman said in an e-mail. It shouldn't be a combination of both. From "Hugh Grant is new father of baby girl" on Yahoo! Canada News on November 1, 2011. Then,

the article's final sentence has me scratching my head for more than one reason. A quiet year so far in his career? What does that mean? And I think the word an is missing from between in and animated. Pretty crap writing, especially considering there are two names attached to this five-paragraph article. Also,

going back to the top of the article, why is the editor's name the one attached to this and not the person who did the reporting and writing? Click an image to enlarge it.

Inadiquate proofreading

2011-11-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

Including a nonword in your article's first sentence - such as inadaquate when it should be inadequate - doesn't instill trust in your readers. From "Some B.C. employers cheating on minimum wage, union alleges" on CBC News online on November 1, 2011. Then,

three sentences later, categorized should be categorizing. Click an image to enlarge it.

What?

2011-11-09T10:33:00.000-08:00

This is the second "sentence" in "Halloween vandalism threat increases security" on CBC News online on October 31, 2011.

Analyze this

2011-10-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is the online cover image for 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays, Second Edition: With Analysis by the Staff of The Harbus, the Harvard Business School Newspaper (ISBN 9780312550073). Do I need to write anything more? For the record, that link takes you to the book's page on Indigo, and it's the same image on Amazon.

Use your personal identification number number at the automated teller machine machine

2011-10-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

I'm confused. Why was $8,000 correctly left alone with no accompanying dollars, while later in the same sentence (from "Kash Heed's manager alleges $40K more in spending" on CBC News online on October 28, 2011) $5,500 incorrectly - and redundantly - had dollars following it? In the next sentence,

either the word and needs to be inserted between involved and have or the word were needs to be removed. Then,

$40,000 is dollars-free, but $5,500 again sees dollars following closely. Also, Barinder Sall is Sall every time in the article, but when Rankin asks him then he's temporarily short an L. Click an image to enlarge it.

Whose job is it to proofread?

2011-10-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

This article ("Bio expected to light up Amazon" in 24 hours Vancouver on October 27, 2011) is about the biography about Steve Jobs. Notice how I wrote Steve Jobs and not Steve Job? Yeah, that's your first indication that the apostrophe in Job's bio from the above paragraph is incorrect.

33.33% = CBC fail

2011-10-26T14:58:00.000-07:00

There are three names in this photo caption and CBC misspelled two of them. It started fine with Bill Clinton, but then George W. Bush and Dianne Watts both got mistreated. From "George W. Bush war crime prosecution blocked in B.C." on CBC News online on October 24, 2011.

24 hours Vancouverrors

2011-10-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

My friend, Jason, posted the above picture on the Detected Errors page on Facebook. It's from 24 hours Vancouver - a free daily newspaper - on October 24, 2011. As you can see, a professional writer wrote loose when it should have been lose, and that person did it in a very large font, indeed. Jason wrote,

You get what you pay for, and this rag they have to force upon people as they cattle call their way onto the SkyTrain. But jeez Louise, on the same page? Have some professional pride, people!

Later that day,

I saw this headline in the same paper, just five pages after the lose/loose error. The apostrophe is in the wrong spot, as womens' should be women's.

Thanks, Jason!

What the L? Where's the L?

2011-10-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

The city is actually Albuquerque. From "BlackBerry maker accused of infringing BBX trademark" on Yahoo! Canada Finance on October 20, 2011.

Want to lose credibility?

2011-10-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

If you want to lose credibility, you couldn't do much worse than including a nonword in a subheadline. The word is moratorium. From "Vancouver mayor promises no gaming expansion" on CBC News online on October 19, 2011.

Back to grade one you go

2011-10-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

This sentence (from "100-year-old Vancouver school to be destroyed" on CBC News online on October 18, 2011) is a dog's breakfast. The word that should be added between Vancouver and are, and the second of should be removed. It's ironic that the article is about an elementary school, non?

CBC can't quote what people are saying

2011-10-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

I watched the video at the top of the article and Plattor does not say "may as well being saying to people". She says "may as well be saying to people", which actually makes sense. From "Roberto Luongo taking shots for poker ads" on CBC News online on October 17, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

That's your own show!

2011-10-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

I've seen other media outlets put the apostrophe in the wrong place (and, in one case, get it way wrong), but Dragons' Den is a CBC show, fer cryin' out loud! From "In the news" on CBC News online on October 15, 2011.

Carelessness causes crap

2011-10-19T14:56:00.000-07:00

The first error in this article ("Moose collision causes fatal 2-car crash in B.C." on CBC News online on October 15, 2011) is a simple misspelling of Citizen in the name of a daily Prince George newspaper. However,

three sentences later there is a doozy. First off, so should be to. Looking at the sentence as a whole, though, from area onwards it's a jumbled mess. A dog's breakfast, if you will. One possible fix involves adding a comma and removing a word: ... in the area as wildlife, especially moose, can be difficult to see at night. A second possible fix involves removing as wildlife: ... in the area, especially moose which can be difficult to see at night. Leaving it as-is, as CBC has done, is dumb.

No hyphens and no facts

2011-10-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

This sentence (from "Boy bitten in bizarre Abbotsford washroom attack" on CBC News online on October 13, 2011) seems straightforward enough, but

three sentences later, the definitely 10-year-old boy (hyphens should be included in the age there) is now only "approximately" 10 years old (hyphens should not be included in the age there). Looking at the article now, Wednesday has been changed to Saturday. Ooooookay. Click an image to enlarge it.

his 18-old-brother

2011-10-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

This is the first sentence/paragraph of just three sentences/paragraphs in the entire article. 18-old-brother should be 18-year-old brother. From "Brother arrested in Campbell River death" on CBC News online on September 28, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Yahoooooooooooooooooooooo! September 2011

2011-10-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

It's time for a summary of all the goofs that were featured on the Yahoo! Canada homepage during September 2011. First, on September 4, Yahoo! claimed that it wasn't a murder suspect that was travelling through Canada - it was the murder itself that was on the move west. Then,

on September 7, a misspelling of New Delhi was on display. Next,

there was a misspelling of graffitis on September 9. A nonword on your homepage? Ridiculous. Then,

on September 14 there was another nonword as officially was missing its second I. Reeediculous. Then,

I had no idea what this was supposed to mean on September 15. So I didn't click it. Then,

on September 16, for both anger and ire the preceding word should have been women's. The apostrophe in that word never goes after the S. I also don't agree with the hyphen in Taser-use. And do you see J.C. Penney up there? Well,

in the article ("Another controversial T-shirt hits the racks" on Yahoo! Canada Shine on September 15, 2011) there are no periods and only one E. Back to the homepage,

September 16 also saw a misspelling of Kate Middleton's last name. Proofreading is so boring. Then,

September 19 featured several errors. The top line is about Julianna Margulies. See how I put the L before the I in her last name? Yeah, that's the correct way of spelling it. The bottom line should have left Paltrow alone with no apostrophe-S, or anything else for that matter, added to her name. Then,

also on September 19, the word of should have been present between one and the. Then,

again on September 19, feisty got misspelled. Another nonword. Redonkulous. Then,

September 21 saw a truckload of errors. First, it's yet another nonword as player gets an extra E. Second,

it's sneak peek, Yahoo!, sneak frickin' peek. Third,

and fourth actually, a should be an (because easier begins with a vowel sound), and messier should be messy. Less messier? Please. Fifth,

this was a link to an article about Brad Pitt rescuing a woman while working on a film. The headline correctly has no apostrophe in rescues. Sixth (and lastly for the 21st),

I don't know how a writer can, in the same sentence, write both it's web store and its new venture. Hey, writer, please explain your thought process on that one. Then,

on September 23, can you see what's wrong with this spelling of Spartacus? If not, compare my spelling to Yahoo!'s spelling. Then,

on September 26 there was yet another nonword. The writers at Yahoo! no doubt consider themselves to be professional writers. That is a tragedy. Then,

on September 27, shows should have been show. Then,

there were two errors on display on September 28. First, Mad Men was undercapitalized. Second,

side should have been sides. I envy writers who get paid to write crap upon crap all wrapped in crap. Then,

on the final day of September, there was a they're that should have been their,

a comical misspelling of commercial, and a show that should have been shows. (Here's the article for that one.) That's it, that's all. Click an image to enlarge it.

Courteney drops E

2011-10-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

It's actually a writer that dropped an E, as Courteney Cox is again the victim of a misspelled name. This time it was on the MSN Canada homepage on September 28, 2011.

If there they, eh?

2011-10-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

The article ("Student killed in SFU's Surrey parkade" on CBC News online on September 28, 2011) has since been updated, but this was originally the final sentence. The word there should have been released.

Metronews Vancouverrors

2011-10-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of errors from Metronews Vancouver on September 27, 2011. First, did the writer (of "Transit can be a real pick-me-up") mean she stares at broken lights while in traffic? That would make sense I guess, but I suspect she's actually staring at brake lights. Then,

in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon (DVD Releases)", someone misspelled Shia LaBeouf's last name.

24 hours Vancouverrors

2011-10-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

A couple of errors from the pages of 24 hours Vancouver during September 2011. First up, from "Wanted: Giant Tums" on September 8, 2011, the writer apologizes for using "mini-doughnuts" and "conjugal visit" in the same sentence when in fact he did no such thing. Then,

in a short teaser on the newspaper's front page - I repeat, front page - on September 14, 2011, someone misspelled the subject's name (it's Arlene Dickinson) and misplaced the apostrophe in the name of her show (it's Dragons' Den). Did I mention that was on the paper's front page? Click an image to enlarge it.

Proofreading is not a priority, nor a piority.

2011-10-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

It's Mike Pioroda! No wait, it's Mike Priorda! CBC, what's the right spelling?! From "Chris Brown B.C. concert promoters duped in fraud" on CBC News online on September 27, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

He was complained

2011-10-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hey, Steve. Hey, Bob. See that final sentence/paragraph (of "L Word star booted off plane over kissing dispute" on Yahoo! Canada News on September 26, 2011) that is right above your names? It needs some editing - removing the first was, to be specific. Click the image to enlarge it.

He's barricaded inside half a city

2011-10-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

Well, technically there are two Vancouvers: Vancouver, B.C, and Vancouver, Washington. And quick research tells me that the southern Vancouver also has an East Vancouver, so the sentence above could be correct, but since it's posted in the B.C. news section of CBC News I have to believe that there is a word missing in the sentence - perhaps home between Vancouver and after. From "Man under siege after shots fired in Vancouver" on CBC News online on September 27, 2011.

CBC British Columbia homepagerrors

2011-10-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

I have some more errors from the CBC British Columbia homepage to share with y'all. First, on September 15, 2011, the second of should not have been present. That text is also the first sentence in the article ("SPCA wants charge laid in Whistler sled dog slaughter" on CBC News online on September 15, 2011),

and, later in the article, where should be were. Both of those errors are still there today. Then,

on September 19, 2011, CBC can't figure out if it's BC Ferries or B.C. Ferries. It's the former, and the article's first sentence was also incorrect. Also in the article ("BC Ferries rescues guests from West Coast luxury resort" on CBC News online on September 19, 2011),

90 kilometres hours should read 90 kilometres per hour. Note the added word and the corrected-by-shortening hour. Later in the same article,

guest should most definitely be guests. Finally, returning to the CBC British Columbia homepage,

on September 20, 2011, there should have been a comma after B.C. and the second where should have been were (sound familiar?). This is also the first sentence in the article, and both errors are still there today. Click an image to enlarge it.

A moth and a camel

2011-10-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

I don't think the ruling would use the word month here; I think the correct word moth would be there instead. From "Water polo player suspended for role in Vancouver riot" on CBC Sports online on September 27, 2011. Then,

two sentences later, SkyTrain should get the camel-case treatment.

Wrong and wrong

2011-10-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

The first misspelling of Tsawwassen features a transposed W and A. In the subsequent paragraph, Tsawwassen is short a W twice. Also, why spokesman and not spokesperson? From "West Coast storm shuts down BC Ferries routes" on CBC News online on September 26, 2011.

Weak writing

2011-10-01T21:34:00.001-07:00

This article ("Medical records with lots of personal info found on Calgary street" on Yahoo! Canada News on September 23, 2011) is by The Canadian Press and features just six sentences/paragraphs. That is apparently one too many sentences to proofread, because in the final sentence week should be weeks.

Two B or not two B? Two B.

2011-10-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Abbotsford is spelled correctly in the headline (of "Twin robberies probed in Abbotsford" on CBC News online on September 25, 2011), but not in the article's first sentence.

One more recent change required

2011-10-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Do you see the word revemps? Yeahhh, here's the thing: revemps is not actually a word. It should be revamps. From "Hate the New Facebook? Here's How to Change It" on MSN Canada Tech & Gadgets on September 23, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Who's the ass?

2011-10-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Of all the things in the article that could have been selected to highlight, a quote that includes an amusing misspelling (resulting in a nonword) is chosen: assinine should be asinine. From "Lions Bay beach ban divides residents" on CBC News online on September 19, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Not a cute error

2011-10-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

This misspelling of prosecutor is from the final sentence of "Irish man arrested at Sao Paulo airport with cocaine in his gut" on Yahoo! Canada News on September 17, 2011.

More misspellings? No.

2011-10-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

By no I mean now, much like the writer of this paragraph (from "A $1 luxury home in Oakville, Ont. doesn’t sell" on Yahoo! Canada News on September 13, 2011). Then,

in the article's next paragraph, a real estate agent gets introduced as Vasia Argirls. However,

for the rest of the article the agent's last name is written as Argiris.

Once, oops. Twice, not oops.

2011-10-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

In the opening sentence of this article ("Kamloops man detained in father's death" on CBC News online on September 12, 2011), a hyphen is missing from 18-year-old. Two sentences later,

the hyphen is still missing. Then, in the article's penultimate sentence,

release should be released. But, hey, at least 18-year-old is finally correct. Click an image to enlarge it.

No sign of a proofreader

2011-10-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Where is the word was that belongs between there and no? I don't know. From "Delay in Amber Alert for B.C. boy questioned" on CBC News online on September 8, 2011. Later in the article,

due is supposed to be do.

Why?

2011-09-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

In this photo caption (from "Protests grow against Gordon Campbell award" on CBC News online on September 5, 2011), why would the writer misspell Bill Tieleman's last name? And why would they leave out the word are from between there and a? In the article itself, Tieleman's last name was misspelled all four times it was written. Now, in an apparent fix, it alternates: it's introduced correctly, then is wrong, is correct, and ends wrong. Why? Why only fix two of the four and why leave the photo caption alone entirely? Also,

why has the weirdness surrounding the date and time of posted articles not been fixed? Click an image to enlarge it.

"Forrrrrrrrre!"feited

2011-09-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

What does forefeited mean? Does it mean the car-less drivers will now have to do all their driving on a golf course? From "Alleged street-racing cars may be confiscated" on CBC News online September 8, 2011.

It's not its

2011-09-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

The its should be it's in this sentence from "Donated 'Books for Charity' sold for profit online" on The Vancouver Courier online on September 2, 2011.

Who decided on that date?

2011-09-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

The first thing I noticed about this article ("Princeton pool plans worry residents" on CBC News online on September 2, 2011) was the odd posting date and time. It's awfully similar - actually, it's identical - to the posting date of the article in the last post. Then,

in the article's final sentence, decided should be decide. Click an image to enlarge it.

That's old news

2011-09-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

I didn't find anything wrong with the writing in this article ("1 woman dead, 1 arrested at Burnaby highrise" on CBC News online on September 1, 2011), but I do think that the date and time of the article's posting - seen beneath the headline - is a little unusual. Click the image to enlarge it.

That's not Susan! That's not Susan!

2011-09-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

It's not the first time CBC News has misspelled Suzanne Anton's name. And I'll bet it's not the last time either. From "Chief says Vancouver riot review backs police" on September 1, 2011.

Yahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! August 2011

2011-09-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed, August 2011 is over. Here, then, is a collection of the errors that were detected on the Yahoo! Canada homepage for that month. For starters, from August 1, there was one T too many in what should have been starlet. Then,

on August 3, the writer of the above got an F for spelling Academy with three A's and no E's. Then,

August 4 blessed us with a twofer. 178 years old should not have had any hyphens, and nonword subsized should have been subsidized. Then,

on August 5, embarrassing was short an R and,

in a baffling error, the first to should have been it. Then,

this line from August 8 should not have included an apostrophe in 1980s. Then,

on August 10, LeBron's what gets help from legend? His headband? More likely, LeBron's name should not have had anything added to it. Then,

August 12 saw three errors. Firstly, a repeated the. Secondly,

an should have been a because rare definitely does not begin with a vowel sound. Thirdly,

premier should have been premiere. After clicking to that article ("Make a Film Foundation and Hollywood celebrities help sick teen Clay Beabout realize his filmmaking dream" on Yahoo! Canada News on August 12, 2011),

I noticed missing hyphens in what should have been 14-year-old, and another shortened premiere. Then,

August 14 featured an incorrect S on bikes in what should have been bike lanes, and

an incorrect apostrophe in what should have been its. Then,

on August 15, this link was to an article ("It's A Girl For Jessica Alba!" on Yahoo! Canada News on August 14, 2011) about Jessica Alba. Oh, and the movie she was in is Sin City. Then,

on August 18 there was another mispelled movie title; this time the victim was The Big Lebowski. Then,

there were several errors on display on August 19. Firstly, the homepage had amoeba correct half the time, but the larger font is the incorrect spelling. Secondly,

woman should have been women. Thirdly,

a T was subtracted from what should have been subtract. After clicking to that article ("Watching television is taking years off your life (basically)" on Yahoo! Canada Shine on August 19, 2011),

I spotted a couple of errors in the first paragraph above. In the second sentence, the word of is missing from between out and the, and less should be fewer. In the second paragraph, watches should be watchers. Then,

back to the homepage, the fourth and final error from August 19 was the absence of hyphens in what should have been a two-year-old's perspective. Then,

on August 20 there was a misspelling of thieves and

a subject-verb disagreement. Yes, scientists make a discovery, but a team makes a discovery. See the difference? Then,

on August 21, it should have been four-month old. Then,

why should have been what on August 22. Also from that day,

quickie is missing its C. Then,

there were several errors on August 24. Firstly, the writer of the above should develop an addiction to dictionaries. Secondly,

there was a hyphen missing from 9,000-year-old (and the article's headline was - and still is - exactly the same). Thirdly,

peak should have been peek. Lastly,
effects should have been affects. Then,

from August 27, is it Eastern Canada or is it eastern Canada? C'mon Yahoo!, you can't have it both ways. Also from that day,

Britney's last name should have been left alone: Spears reveals dream job. Then,

on August 28, Yahoo! couldn't even spell its own Flickr website correctly, and

the article's headline had it wrong as well. The headline has since been corrected but you can still see the misspelling in the web address. Then,

on August 29, this writer probably fibbed on their resume when applying to Yahoo!, because how else can you explain the missing R from what should have been your employment history and the missing E from what should have been interview gaffes? Finally,

also from August 29, the third the should be they. I wonder why Yahoo! is hesitant to actually present themselves as competent and trustworthy. Click an image to enlarge it.

CBC British Columbia homepagerrors

2011-09-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here now are a few more errors that were detected on the CBC British Columbia homepage. All the homepage errors were repeated in the associated article's first sentence. First up, I saw a misspelled condition on August 3, 2011. Then,

on August 10, 2011, I think the word used should have been used here, right after the word hours. Then,

on August 18, 2011, the word is was missing from between she and going. Then,

on August 19, 2011, YouTube was capitalized correctly half the time, and I think the words potentially and a should have swapped places. Then,

on August 22, 2011, hims should have been S-less. Also, why was it road rage driver (without a hyphen) but road-rage incident (with a hyphen)? When I clicked to - and read - the article ("Road rage driver pins B.C. man against car" on CBC News online on August 22, 2011),

the word he should have been in existence between said and was. Then,

on August 25, 2011, the first new should have been spotted and removed. In the article itself ("Increasing painkiller use alarms B.C. expert" on CBC News online on August 25, 2011),

near the end there is a sudden capitalization issue affecting Vancouver and

i (which should be me but don't blame the writer - s/he is quoting a speaker, who happens to be a university professor). Then,

on August 27, 2011, an should be a. When it comes to the associated articles, all the first sentences have been fixed, except this one - see for yourself: "B.C. boating accident kills Edmonton girl" on CBC News online. Click an image to enlarge it.

24 hours Vancouverrors

2011-09-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

Similarly, when you are a professional writer and make a stupid homophonic mistake, Detected Errors will be right there to mock you. From "Aftershock talk" on August 25, 2011. On the same day,

there was a misspelling of position in "Overheard" on August 25, 2011. Then,

on August 31, 2011, someone misspelled the first name of the top-ranked player in women's tennis. It should be Caroline, but you know, no biggie. From "Djokovic cruises into next round". Click an image to enlarge it.

Please don't tell me to do the math

2011-09-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

The first sentence of the third paragraph of the article ("Photographer behind 9/11 "Falling Man" retraces steps, recalls "unknown soldier"" on Yahoo! Canada News on August 29, 2011) starts out fine as a reminiscing timeframe for 9/11 is set. For the record, the mid-July is in 2011. But then,

at the start of the third paragraph's second sentence, the writer introduces us to some wonky calendar calculations. Yes, July is two months away from September, but the writer went the wrong way as July is also ten months away from September. Somehow the writer was made aware of the gaffe

and subsequently "fixed" it. Is the writer now converting 9/11 to November 9? Click an image to enlarge it.

All current gear replaced with binoculars

2011-09-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

I saved this to post about how the word sight is supposed to be fight. Although if there were such an occupation as firesighter I would definitely apply. "Oh, there's one." Looking at the article now ("Burnaby warehouse fire causes huge losses" on CBC News online on August 29, 2011), the sight/fight correction has been made. However, I discovered that there had been another error - since fixed - that wasn't so easily detected. The sentence now states that the fire was "on Byrne Road north of Marine Way". Lame. Click the image to enlarge it.

CBC can't C anything wrong

2011-09-03T23:39:00.000-07:00

In "Boy lands jet ski on boat injuring 2" on CBC News online on August 29, 2011, the Vernon RCMP spokesman gets introduced as Gord Molendyk but a few paragraphs later

the reader finds that Gord's last name has picked up a C. Then, in the article's final paragraph,

I think that I can just stop here and you'll have no problem figuring out the error. You'll have no problem figuring out the error. Click an image to enlarge it.