I could hardly get through Silas Lyons' column in Sunday's "Opinion" page today. In it, Silas seems to admit that he can't think for himself, and that Bruce Ross might actually be the brains behind the editorial page?! Ya think???? Gees, it took 10 months for Silas to figure out he can't formulate an intelligent thought in his wee-brain. Alas, if Bruce Ross is really going to do all the heavy thinking on the "Editorial Board," shouldn't Bruce get a big raise and be paid for two salaries?Also, there's a flawed sentence in Silas' piece: "The editorial board consists of Shanna Cannon, the president and publisher, Bruce and me." Ah, shouldn't that be "Bruce and I?"
Finally, I still think it's hilarious that Silas refers to the three person "editorial board" as an actual "board," it sounds more like an "editorial three-ring circus" to me. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, three people does not make a "editorial board," it makes an editorial board farce.
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3 comments:
Nope, "Bruce and me" is correct (just check by taking out the extra words: "The editorial board consists of ... me" - a little English class trick). And the editorial page editor at most newspapers is responsible for writing the editorials. This has been the case at the R-S for as long as I can remember. I don't think Silas was "admitting" that he doesn't write them - it sounded to me like he was explaining the process to people who might not understand how the editorial writing process works.
I'm as disgusted with the R-S as the next guy, but you lose a lot of credibility when you say things like this. Just FYI.
Dear FYI - Thank you for your comment, and your proposed grammatical correction that I still disagree with. Also, can you please tell me with whom I "lose credibility with"? Have you identified my entire reading audience? If so, bravo!
Also, can you please elaborate on what you mean by "when I say things like this?" Please note that I am merely "writing" and not actually "saying" a thing. Dare say it appears my loud mouthed opinion is not for you? To each their own.
Well, LM, you're wrong about I/me.
From http://www.copyblogger.com/grammar-writing-mistakes/:
. Me, Myself, and I
One of the most common causes of grammatical pain is the choice between “me” and “I.” Too often people use “I” when they should use “me,” because since “I” sounds stilted and proper, it must be right, right? Nope.
The easy way to get this one right is to simply remove the other person from the sentence and then do what sounds correct. You would never say “Give I a call,” so you also wouldn’t say “Give Chris and I a call.” Don’t be afraid of me.
And whatever you do, don’t punt and say “myself” because you’re not sure whether “me” or “I” is the correct choice. “Myself” is only proper in two contexts, both of which are demonstrated below.
Many consider Chris a punk, but I myself tolerate him. Which brings me to ask myself, why?
I don't think you're passing yourself off as a reporter, so perhaps you don't lose credibility, but simply join so many others who mangle the language in both speech and written form.
And that includes -- sometimes -- the journalists who are supposed to know better, and their editors. Nobody is perfect. Not even you.
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