August 6, 2018

When correcting the NYT becomes truly ridiculous.

The Daily Caller saw fit to pick this nit:
The New York Times ran a shoddy graphic on Monday that included two extinct postal abbreviations for Maine and Texas.

“These Women Could Shatter Glass Ceilings in Governor’s Races,” a story about women running in governor’s races across the country, came packaged with a fancy-looking graphic right below the headline.

Unfortunately, whoever made the graphic clearly did not have knowledge of the correct abbreviations for states.

Maine was abbreviated as “Me.” and Texas was abbreviated as “Tex.”
And it wasn't even a nit!
UPDATE (2:45 PM): The New York Times’ style guide, contrary to AP style, abbreviates Maine as “Me.” and Texas as “Tex.”
I love finding mistakes in the NYT, but you have to be way more careful than that..

22 comments:

gilbar said...

so, he's complaining that someone else doesn't use the same stylebook he does?
What's Next, will he start complaining because people don't use his, personal definition of Groping?

richlb said...

Fun fact: Since 1963 there has been only one change to the postal codes; in 1969, at the request of the Canadian government, the code for Nebraska was changed from NB to NE, to avoid confusion between Nebraska and New Brunswick.

Bill Peschel said...

Postal abbreviations are supposed to be used only with mailing addresses. That's per the AP stylebook, among others.

Idiot.

Ann Althouse said...

"so, he's complaining ..."

Surprising, it's a she.

I "heard" it as a guy attitude too.

But it's a lady.

Unless it's a guy named Amber.

Ann Althouse said...

The postal abbreviation for Maine is ME. I guess the problem was writing it as "Me."

Drago said...

#MeTex!!!

Bay Area Guy said...

#MaineToo!

Mary Beth said...

Even if it were non-standard, that's a low-effort complaint. It's the same as when people complain about typos in Trump's tweets but ignore the message.

tcrosse said...

Fuck Me.

GRW3 said...

Break the glass ceiling in Texas? Texas has already done that, twice. Unless they mean having a Republican woman as Governor.

mccullough said...

Remember the ME. Don’t Mess with TX.

Stephen Taylor said...

The institution in which I labor mandates that all other states or territories be referred to with the two-letter abbreviation, but Texas must never, ever be abbreviated.

Eleanor said...

I can see abbreviating a state like Pennsylvania or Massachusetts, but abbreviating Maine and Texas is just being lazy. Unless you're limited to 140 characters.

William Tyroler said...

Martin Kramer knows how to correct the Times: https://medium.com/@Martin_Kramer/the-new-york-times-stands-by-its-error-af164fcfd11a.

Sam L. said...

www.stateabbreviationlist.com says Maine is ME. I recall it used to be Me.

Chris of Rights said...

The popular two letter codes used in postal addresses are just that. Two letter codes used in postal addresses. They are not state abbreviations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_abbreviations

rhhardin said...

I think I have never been to Maine. It's an odd corner and if there's no reason to be up there, you're not up there.

gilbar said...

delicious Lobster!

TwinsLawyer said...

More importantly, when writing an article "correcting" someone else, don't make your own mistakes.

"CORRECTION: An earlier headline said the New York Times invented “a new” abbreviation. It was an error in the editing process and has been amended."


Shawn Levasseur said...

Welcome to "This Week in Pedantry"

toko herbal said...

OBAT BIUS CHOROFORM DI BOGOR
OBAT BIUS CHLOROPHYLL DI BOGOR
OBAT LIQUID SEX DI BOGOR
OBAT BIUS TRIVAM DI BOGOR
OBAT SLEEPING BEAUTY DI BOGOR

CHLOROFORM DI TANGERANG
CHLOROPHYLL DI TANGERANG
LIQUID SEX DI TANGERANG
TRIVAM DI TANGERANG
SLEEPING BEAUTY DI TANGERANG

tim maguire said...

Is anyone impressed by an editorial "gotcha"? Unless there are enough of them to cast doubt on the overall accuracy of the article, ya ain't got squat.