For Such A Good Newspaper ... Why ?

[Gonzo the Face]

I really think that the Nation is a very good newspaper.

Why can they not do just a bit of proofreading. I know and understand the hesitancy in hiring a native English Speaker [read foreign] but I know that there are Thai's that are very very proficient in English, and in some cases they speak English as their first language.

Why does such a good paper refuse to do this hiring.

Two Examples from this afternoon's Internet news from The Nation

Headline in Breaking News Section :

"Police seek public health for identifying 16 persons suspected of contempt of court

Read the article and it becomes evident they mean "Public Help"

Next article in Breaking News "

First commercial flight lands at Suvarnabhumi airport

The first commercial flight of Thai Airways International landed at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 8:09 am Saturday morning.

The short flight using 747-400 Boeing left Don Muang Airport at 7:29 am.

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra flied with the first group of passengers in the first commercial flight.

The TG1881 flight had 75 passengers, incluidng the prime minister.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Are these people concerned about face loss if the hire someone who is able to correctly proofread?

[kurgen]

I really think that the Nation is a very good newspaper.

Why can they not do just a bit of proofreading. I know and understand the hesitancy in hiring a native English Speaker [read foreign] but I know that there are Thai's that are very very proficient in English, and in some cases they speak English as their first language.

Why does such a good paper refuse to do this hiring.

Two Examples from this afternoon's Internet news from The Nation

Headline in Breaking News Section :

"Police seek public health for identifying 16 persons suspected of contempt of court

Read the article and it becomes evident they mean "Public Help"

Next article in Breaking News "

First commercial flight lands at Suvarnabhumi airport

The first commercial flight of Thai Airways International landed at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 8:09 am Saturday morning.

The short flight using 747-400 Boeing left Don Muang Airport at 7:29 am.

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra flied with the first group of passengers in the first commercial flight.

The TG1881 flight had 75 passengers, incluidng the prime minister.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Are these people concerned about face loss if the hire someone who is able to correctly proofread?

The Nation has hired a proof reader and he is a falang

unfortunately they hired Yorky

[Plus]

They proofread the printed material, breaking news section on the website might not get the same attention. It's pretty much like us typing up stuff here.

[leftcross]

Thai's that are very very proficient in English, and in some cases they speak English as their first language.

How can a Thai speak English as their first language? You mean they were born overseas and were taught English from birth?

[libya 115]

I think the O.P. is being rather harsh. The English language Thai' newspapers do an excellent job.

Daily English newspapers make mistakes.

I make mistakes.

When it comes to spelling, punctuation and grammar, most of us will make mistakes.

The O.P.'s post was littered with mistakes. A Chang beer to someone who can list all 32 errors!

[egeefay]

Seems like simple "spell check" software should have caught 2 out of 3 of the mistakes you pointed out. Not sure how newspapers get stories to print but I would think they start with a reporter on a computer...and all word processing programs come with spell checkers.

Be interesting to find out from someone who works at a newspaper how simple spelling errors can slip through.

[Guest endure]

I really think that the Nation is a very good newspaper.

Why can they not do just a bit of proofreading. I know and understand the hesitancy in hiring a native English Speaker [read foreign] but I know that there are Thai's that are very very proficient in English, and in some cases they speak English as their first language.

Why does such a good paper refuse to do this hiring.

Two Examples from this afternoon's Internet news from The Nation

Headline in Breaking News Section :

"Police seek public health for identifying 16 persons suspected of contempt of court

Read the article and it becomes evident they mean "Public Help"

Next article in Breaking News "

First commercial flight lands at Suvarnabhumi airport

The first commercial flight of Thai Airways International landed at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 8:09 am Saturday morning.

The short flight using 747-400 Boeing left Don Muang Airport at 7:29 am.

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra flied with the first group of passengers in the first commercial flight.

The TG1881 flight had 75 passengers, incluidng the prime minister.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Are these people concerned about face loss if the hire someone who is able to correctly proofread?

The Nation has hired a proof reader and he is a falang

unfortunately they hired Yorky

[Thaiboxer]

With the current government's stance on free speech, spelling/grammatical errors are the least of our problems; I wonder how much of what they print in the Nation or BKK Post (especially local news) is actually true.

[slimdog]

With the current government's stance on free speech, spelling/grammatical errors are the least of our problems; I wonder how much of what they print in the Nation or BKK Post (especially local news) is actually true.

In a sense it is all true. However you really have to understand the newspapers definitions to get the full story. Some very frequent definitions are:

According to published reports: We got scooped

Activist: Will talk to press

Allegedly: He did it but we can't prove it

Controversial: He did something bad but we're not sure what

Couldn't be reached for comment: The reporter didn't call until after 5 p.m.

Embattled: He should quit

Highly placed source: One who would talk

Informed source: Reads our newspaper

Knowledgable observer: The reporter

Knowledgable observers: The reporter and the person at the next desk

Mega-mogul: Has made it, and is in process of losing it

Outspoken: Rude man

Scandal-plagued: Guilty

Shocking revelation: Leaked on a slow news day

Source who spoke on condition of anonymity: Publicist

Unclear, uncertain, unknown at press time: No one will tell us

[samran]

With the current government's stance on free speech, spelling/grammatical errors are the least of our problems; I wonder how much of what they print in the Nation or BKK Post (especially local news) is actually true.

In a sense it is all true. However you really have to understand the newspapers definitions to get the full story. Some very frequent definitions are:

According to published reports: We got scooped

Activist: Will talk to press

Allegedly: He did it but we can't prove it

Controversial: He did something bad but we're not sure what

Couldn't be reached for comment: The reporter didn't call until after 5 p.m.

Embattled: He should quit

Highly placed source: One who would talk

Informed source: Reads our newspaper

Knowledgable observer: The reporter

Knowledgable observers: The reporter and the person at the next desk

Mega-mogul: Has made it, and is in process of losing it

Outspoken: Rude man

Scandal-plagued: Guilty

Shocking revelation: Leaked on a slow news day

Source who spoke on condition of anonymity: Publicist

Unclear, uncertain, unknown at press time: No one will tell us

I see you read Crikey as well.

[Thaiboxer]

In a sense it is all true. However you really have to understand the newspapers definitions to get the full story. Some very frequent definitions are:

According to published reports: We got scooped

Activist: Will talk to press

Allegedly: He did it but we can't prove it

Controversial: He did something bad but we're not sure what

Couldn't be reached for comment: The reporter didn't call until after 5 p.m.

Embattled: He should quit

Highly placed source: One who would talk

Informed source: Reads our newspaper

Knowledgable observer: The reporter

Knowledgable observers: The reporter and the person at the next desk

Mega-mogul: Has made it, and is in process of losing it

Outspoken: Rude man

Scandal-plagued: Guilty

Shocking revelation: Leaked on a slow news day

Source who spoke on condition of anonymity: Publicist

Unclear, uncertain, unknown at press time: No one will tell us

Good points

[Artisan]

I counted a total of 16 grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors in the original post...can anyone beat that?

Edited July 30, 2006 by Artisan

[jdinasia]

Can I have some more whine with my lunch please?

[libya 115]

I counted a total of 16 grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors in the original post...can anyone beat that?

Half way there then!?

[qualtrough]

I have heard that the pay and hours for farang proofreaders at the Post and Nation are not that good. Also, a Thai with native proficiency could make far more money doing something else in Thailand.

[psychedelix47]

I have heard that the pay and hours for farang proofreaders at the Post and Nation are not that good.

That's because they're not doing a great job here, are they?

The karma of your deeds determines the rewards you'll reap.

[Artisan]

I counted a total of 16 grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors in the original post...can anyone beat that?

Half way there then!?

Is that worth a half bottle of Chang?.........Anyway, I think that you might be splitting hairs on the other 16 errors!

[Stephen Cleary]

I have heard that the pay and hours for farang proofreaders at the Post and Nation are not that good.

That's because they're not doing a great job here, are they?

The karma of your deeds determines the rewards you'll reap.

In contrary to what has been posted, you'll find that a lot of the Farang guys over there at The Nation are of a very high standard. The rate of pay over there at The Nation - has in fact, gone up quite substantially over the years.

Here is a reply i got from a friend at The Nation in regards to this thread.

"Both of the references they made were to the breaking news section on the website. The website updates are written by a Thai and not proofread. All the stuff in the newspaper is proofread and the standard of English in the print version is pretty good, but fair enough point on the "breaking news" section of the website"

Edited July 31, 2006 by stevesuphan

[wilko]

I really think that the Nation is a very good newspaper.

Why can they not do just a bit of proofreading. I know and understand the hesitancy in hiring a native English Speaker [read foreign] but I know that there are Thai's that are very very proficient in English, and in some cases they speak English as their first language.

Why does such a good paper refuse to do this hiring.

Ever read the "Grauniad"????

[ronw]

I think the O.P. is being rather harsh. The English language Thai' newspapers do an excellent job.

Daily English newspapers make mistakes.

I make mistakes.

When it comes to spelling, punctuation and grammar, most of us will make mistakes.

The O.P.'s post was littered with mistakes. A Chang beer to someone who can list all 32 errors!

started to look, then remembered......I hate chang beer.....