OOPS! Campaign Misspells Politician’s Name

Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski is running for re-election as a write-in candidate, having lost her primary to a challenger.

Unfortunately, in an online ad, Murkowski’s campaign spelled her name, “Murkwski.” The “O” in the middle went missing. Perhaps it came to Chicago to appear on the cover of Oprah’s magazine. But when the staffers discovered the error, I bet they shouted out plenty of “O”s – followed by the 4-letter expletive of their choice.

The irony of misspelling the name of a write-in candidate – in ads meant to teach voters the correct spelling of the name, no less – is rich, and has been covered already.

What I’m interested in is how a mistake like this was allowed to happen. Everyone makes typos, sure. But if any written matter is worth spending money to proofread, political ads are it. Murkowski has already been defeated in her primary as an incumbent, damaging her chances of keeping her seat in November. She sure as heck didn’t need to look like a dummy who can’t even spell her own name.

The Real Value

Proofreading is a highly undervalued service in our society. On Craigslist, you see people trying to hire proofreaders as cheap as $7-$10 per hour. I think they should be earning far more (but that’s a topic for another post). But many people who should be hiring proofreaders simply skip it, or do it themselves (why you should never proofread your own work is yet another post).

Preventing a blunder like Murkowski’s misspelling is worth its weight in gold, even if you’re not a politician. It’s never about the error itself. It’s about how the error makes you look: rushed, uneducated, careless.

And Lord knows the world didn’t need more jokes about the intelligence of female politicians from Alaska.

Hire a proofreader next time, Murkowski! If there IS a next time for you, that is.

Introduction

Hi! I’m Jen, and I am an editor. I live on the north side of Chicago.

I’ve always got something to say about editing, writing, and freelancing. So I started this blog. I imagine it will cover topics such as:

• Working as an editor, writer, copyeditor, proofreader, designer, and other positions in publishing
• Rants (always a good time)
• The ups and downs of working as a freelancer/contractor
• Fun, geeky grammar topics
• Books
• The publishing field and how it’s evolving with new media
• News
• Other blogs and opinions
• The publishing community in Chicago
• Whatever else I feel like talking about that day

I will always invite comments. In fact, that’s what I look forward to the most. I love to write. But IMO, the greatest thing about the internet is exchanging ideas with other people.

About Me

I’ve worked in publishing for about 11 years. My glorious beginning was a college internship as a features editor with the good people at the Richmond (Indiana) Palladium-Item. I majored in Biology, but after a year as a lab technician, decided to go with what I'd loved since I was a kid -- writing and editing.

My professional titles have included Writer, Editor, Publications Manager, Proofreader, Lead Editor, Web Editor, and currently Data Manager/Designer. If you want it, my resume is here.

Over the years, I’ve amassed quite a collection of skills related to publishing. If someone asked me to come up with an original idea, research and write a story about it, lay it out in Quark or InDesign, edit it, proofread it, have it professionally printed and bound, see to customer fulfillment, and then put a multimedia version of it up on the Web, I could do all that. As well as finding vendors and freelancers to assist where needed.

I find that having a rich assortment of skills (much like one of those chocolate sampler boxes) is not uncommon among writers and editors. Many of us, failing to find that ideal job as a creative writer, take on a variety of jobs in order to keep ourselves in food, clothes, and books. Lots of us end up as Guy or Gal Fridays after a few years. But I digress (expect a lot of that on this blog. It’s my blog, and I’ll digress if I want to…).

I’m fascinated by how the Internet has changed both publishing and communications in general. At the ripe old age of 34, I’m old enough to remember when, if you wanted information about something, you had to go to the library and ask the reference librarian. Or you had to make a phone call and have somebody send you printed material in the mail. Now, I find myself part of the “If it’s not on the web, then it doesn’t exist” mindset -- which is both exciting (because damn near everything IS on the web) and limiting (because much is not).

About You

Who are YOU? Feel free to respond in the comments.