Don't get heartburn in the first place. -- Larry the Cable Guy
Ample use of the word "allegedly" doesn't get you off the hook and can get you in trouble.
The standards of usage are upheld by copy editors at newspapers, magazines and online publications in America and other English-speaking countries around the world.
They are unknown and unsung. They get no bylines, yet they save those who do from looking foolish every day. It is serious work, with serious consequences.
This is not to say that copy editors are humorless and always take themselves seriously. Some of the best one-liners ever perpetrated have come from copy editors -- many are unprintable and understandable only in the context of the moment.
A rule learned early by every good writer and copy editor is this: If you don't want to see it in print, don't put it in the computer. And don't rely on the next guy to invoke the CYA rule and take it out or otherwise fix it. Do it yourself. (CYA = "cover your a...")
If you must make jokes with the copy, keep it verbal.
This rule was forgotten by the copy editor who inserted "allegedly born in Hawaii" into a story about the President, and expected the next editor to catch the joke and delete the word "allegedly." He didn't.
No comments:
Post a Comment