Defending the East Oregonian

[ThreeNoSeep]

I feel a need to respond for a newspaper.
There was a since-locked thread about the East Oregonian newspaper and a headline from 2015 that used the word "Amphibious" rather than "Ambidextrous" in a headline about a baseball pitcher. Folks immediately attributed the amusing error to right-wing bias/ignorance or as evidence of the problems of using AI.
Later on, the person who posted the thread took it down, which I appreciate.
Having edited headlines for years, I know from experience that the number of errors that appear in a print article, or a web-version of a print article, is miniscule compared to the number of headlines that are accurate. Typically many eyeballs will look for errors, from multiple editors to the print layout staff to the printer operators themselves, and luckily the production staff usually catches them. When errors do happen, and they most certainly do, the dedicated readers will let the editor know with endless emails and phone calls in the days after publication. I recall many conversations where my half of the interaction would begin, "Yes, we are aware of the error..." When people do notice a big mistake, it's usually because of something more than a mere misspelling. Though the mistake is usually drab and benign, hilarity sometimes ensues.
As newsrooms incorporate more AI, we will see less of this type of error, because AI is becoming that good. And perhaps we news junkies will be the worse for the result because of less amusement in our daily consumption of news.
As for the bias of the East Oregonian, there wasn't much to find using "East Oregonian Newspaper" and "Bias", though there were some search results for complaints that their editorial page has a liberal bias. It is worth noting that Harris won in Oregon.
With the closing of 3200 newspapers nationwide and a reduction in U.S. reporting staff by over 50 percent in the first 25 years of the 21st Century, many of us now live in news deserts where the local history of families and communities disappear in the face of indifference and cynicism.
My hope is that the East Oregonian is still reporting on their local communities.

[surfered]

1. We are big ;local newspaper supporters. They are necessary for accountability of local government, which is why

we still subscribe at a price not proportional to the amount of news included. I know social media has taken its toll on that business. That said, my wife was an English/Journalism teacher. Even though she is retired, her red pen still at the ready for headline mistakes and especially misused apostrophes. The East Oregonian Newspaper headline was sent to her by a fellow English teacher.

[wyn borkins]

2. Thank You and I Join You in Defending the East Oregonian (n/t)