India the new ‘OC’?
I have nothing against India. In fact, I think there are many products and services that should be outsourced to India. Editing American newspapers, however, is probably not one of them. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what the Orange County Register is going to do.
Maybe this concerns me because I have a degree in editing and know it takes a better than average understanding of the intricacies of vernacular to properly edit American English. Editing a newspaper is not about English per se, but more about context and cultural references and even slang. So while Indians speak and write in English — it’s a very different version of English than U.S. English, not to mention the unique aspects of English in southern California.
Anyway, I suppose the Register is going to send a shitload of copies of the AP Stylebook over there along with DVDs of The O.C.
India the new ‘OC’?
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Comments
June 25th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Logistically, it makes sense. There’s a 24 hour news cycle and when it’s the end of our workday in America, it’s the start of the workday in New Dehli. It’s not a traditional work late into the night newsroom but it could be one way to cure burnout caused by short staffing.
So yes, outsourcing makes sense. What’s sad is the continual erosion of skills here in the U.S. We are a generation or two away from being incapable of physically making anything whether that’s clothes, TV sets, computer code or soon, apparently, sentences.
June 25th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
After seeing the atrocious editing at Azcentral.com, it might be better to send it to India, where, according to Wikipedia, English ranks 40th as “first language” spoken.
Len, you’re too generous. A majority of Phoenix PR practitioners wouldn’t know an AP stylebook if it fell on them. That could explain why many practitioners, including azcentral reporters and copy editors, spell it “website.” Look it up in the AP Stylebook.
June 25th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Ironically, an example of Azcentral’s editing just popped up on a 6-25-8 story
http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2008/06/25/20080625mr-arpaiofolo0626.html
“Mesa Police Chief George Gascón spend much of Wednesday waiting for details about the operation and said the Sheriff’s Office failed to show at a scheduled meeting.”
I think they meant “spent,” not “spend.” Of course, whom am I to judge.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
“I see typos.”
Richard – I think you and I are like that kid in the Sixth Sense!
The Republic has daily typos.
June 26th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
My favorite AZ Republic error this week is this paragraph from the business feature about Holsum Bakery becoming a subsidiary of a Southern bakery…Talk about becoming your own grandpa!
operating under its name as a subsidiary of Flowers Foods. Ed Eisele, Holsum president and majority owner, will continue to lead the company.
Eisele’s descendant Edward Eisele, a German immigrant that moved to Phoenix in 1881, worked at the original Phoenix bakery before purchasing it for $300 three years later.
June 28th, 2008 at 8:20 am
On 6-28-8, in a story about Winslow, this line went from a reporter and past copy editors – “In Winslow, a handful of rival publications is wrestling for the market” Verb tense, Republic. A handful is not “is”, it is “are.”
June 28th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Northern California media started outsourcing reporting and editing to India in 2002. The OC Register is just catching up. Many of those hired were educated in the US and worked here until the tech downturn left them jobless, without unemployment compensation of any kind and with no recourse except to sell everything at a loss and go back to an India they had left a long time ago. It’s no surprise to find Indian entrepreneurs deliberately remaining in their own country and actively competing against us.