Sisyphus and the enigma of the tape recorder editor

At the breakneck speed of technology, news is almost born already outdated, and errors and mistakes in the rush are so inevitable that journalistic homeostasis has adapted. My assessment of the year is to document a sample of the dialectical error/error that readers have been sending me.

Subscriber Lluís Minoves noted that, in the reader comments on the digital articles, "there are many spelling mistakes or, simply, errors due to not paying attention or minimally reviewing the words that are written," and suggested automatic correction before publication.

Félix Tarrida explained to me that he had reported errors in three online comments, that the errors were corrected, but that the comments then lost their meaning. The reader wondered: "Couldn't journalists acknowledge the corrections we readers make with an added micro-comment? It would seem the most polite thing to do. Personally, this is the third time it's happened to me."

Pere Guiu reminds me that in an article the word "several times" is mentioned legislature when talking about municipalism," when "the correct word would be mandateSince municipalities, regional councils, municipal entities, and provincial councils cannot "legislate," that is, "pass laws," while members of the central and regional governments can." And he suggests that I "pass this on to the Political team so they can correct this error, since many believe it is correct."

Josep M. Fontanillas writes: "I feel bad having to say that every day reading the ARA I notice some error, many of them seem more like mistakes made to write quickly. Today's newspaper [June 13]: 'Benjamin Netanyahu speaks of the offensive "attack on the bad" against the enraense.' And I don't exactly write well. In another article they write 'minister' to refer to Netanyahu... And so every day there's some typo, and I'm sure I miss many. Perhaps they should pay more attention to how it's written."

Lluís Codina focuses on the crossword puzzle. He praises Mr. Ventura's ingenuity but points out a cut in the last row of downs; he concludes: "Today's mistake isn't the first. It's happened before. I would appreciate it if those responsible for page layout would send the ENTIRE page to print. Always. And thank you for making ARA the best Catalan-language newspaper."

Without leaving the realm of playful interaction, subscriber Montse Peláez explains that she solves the Trobamot every day, but that "lately to access it you have to open an ad that sometimes doesn't close and meanwhile the time to solve it keeps passing. I've stopped playing... I would like to ask if it's possible to reject the ad."

Jaume Molsosa copied this headline for me: "Barcelona bar where Gerard Piqué and Clara Chia met sealed off (with two employees inside)." He commented: "I find it unnecessary and self-serving to mention Piqué and Chia in this news story. It might seem that these two people have something to do with the misuse of the premises or with its sealing off. It's not typical of a newspaper like ARA to set traps that induce clicks on news stories, taking advantage of the fact that the Ebro River flows through Tortosa."

Jordi Salvador refers to an article by Sebastià Alzamora where it is said that the Serbian general Radovan Karadzic was besieging Sarajevo, when it was Ratko Mladic, who was the military man, while Karadzic was the politician, a psychiatrist by profession.

The ARA's deputy director, Ignasi Aragay, answers all these questions.

"The quality of language and writing has always been a priority for the newspaper. With the print version, the checks and proofreading are exhaustive. It is likely that the complaint and examples from reader Josep M. Fontanillas refer to the digital version, where, indeed, checks are sometimes carried out."a posterioriWhen priority is given to publishing the news. With breaking news requiring immediacy, content and language editing occur after publication.

Regarding the problem Lluís Codina mentioned with the crossword puzzle, it was a technical issue; it occurred for a few days, we detected it, and it hasn't happened again. As for subscriber Montse Peláez – Aragay continues – if she has the login If it's properly activated, you shouldn't see ads in Trobamot. Non-subscribers do see ads.

Regarding Jaume Molsosa's displeasure with the news article "Barcelona bar where Gerard Piqué and Clara Chia met sealed off (with two employees inside)," it should be noted that the controversial establishment, licensed as a bar but operating as a nightclub, rose to fame precisely because of Piqué and Chia: therefore, the reference could be interpreted as a dig. However, it was perhaps unnecessary, among other things because the element in parentheses in the title was already sufficiently interesting in itself.

And – the deputy director concludes – regarding Sebastià Alzamora's confusion between the war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, it is just that: a slip of the tongue that unfortunately no one on the editing team noticed and for which we can only apologize."

As I was finishing this report, two more errors came to my attention, and others that I will address in the next installment, which only serve to confirm that yes, we are not on Apollo 13 nor communicating with Houston, but we do have a problem. Jordi Ferré copied a headline for me where, instead of saying "documentos" (documents), he said "documentas" (a misspelling of "documentas"), which was later corrected. He had also shown me that another headline prominently displayed "cáner" instead of "cáncer" (cancer). Josepa Berenguer reproduced a Trivial Pursuit question where, instead of saying "sacará" (will take out), she said "sacará" (will take out).

In the early days of printing, when texts were set using linotype and the entire newspaper was produced with lead type, the final product, the page, underwent three revisions: the one we still use today, by proofreaders and style editors; the one by the night shift reporter—who reviewed the proof—and the one by the typesetters, who could still make changes to the lead type. It was certainly a final, highly responsible review that required enormous skill because these highly specialized typesetters ended up learning to read backward or with a mirror and checking the final proof on paper.

Dr. Gabriel Jaraba, a great journalist who debuted in this role under one of the best journalism teachers, Josep Pernau, when he was head of the newsroom, explained it to me. Barcelona DailyJaraba, one of the first and best music critics of the Nova Cançó, was on the founding team ofHeNewspaper and professor at the UAB, among many other dedications, such as the current one of deputy director of the Unesco Chair of Quality Journalism and Information Literacy.

The enigma for the tape recorder editor will be figuring out how to reinvent this quality control function when lead has been forever dissolved in the crucible of history; although, the academic concludes: "It was a Sisyphean task: the complaints you receive were already happening then and will continue in the future, it's Sisyphus's work." We hope, however, for a hopeful resolution to the classical myth like the one proposed by Salvador Espriu: "That the ominous rock may never roll down again."

The Reader's Advocate pays attention to doubts, suggestions, criticisms, and complaints about the newspaper's content in its digital and print editions, and ensures that the handling of information is in accordance with the codes of ethics.

By contact the Reader's Advocate You can send an email to eldefensor@ara.cat or record a message of no more than one minute to the WhatsApp number 653784787. In all cases, identification with name, surname and ID number is required.