Thursday, January 3, 2008

Yet another proof that journalists aren't the smart ones

HEre's a story from ABC about the Rollins/Romney pugilistic puns....

Rollins aggressively says he'd like to punch Mitt in the mouth.

Mitt jokes that he'd ask Rollins to please leave the well coiffed hair alone.

ABC prints the quote, but they use the word 'quaff' meaning to drink, rather than 'coif', meaning to style hair. It's a bonehead mistake from a network priding itself on superior intellect and education and prose style.

This is what they learn, or don't, in Columbia School of Journalism, the school they go to in order to become smarter than you and me, so they can tell us how to live.

Journalism was so much better off fifty years ago, when its workers were ex-soldiers with sleeves rolled up and cigarettes glowing, just making the phone calls, checking the facts, and telling the public what happens. Nowadays it's a 'profession', having succeeded in conning the public about the 'qualifications' and the 'superior education' required to practice it, and of course having started the Columbia School of Journalism and such institutions.

Journalism was never meant to be on an equal footing with doctoring, lawyering and accounting. It just isn't that hard.

Even I know that I can't coif a beer or quaff someone's hair. Good grief.

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