Feardom of the Press

It's not a typo. News of recent days has focused around the exposure of yet another plot by zealous terrorist factions to cause massive destruction and loss of human life. Such disregard for one's fellow human beings is uncivilized and it must stop. The most drastic measures necessary should be taken to make it stop. Every one -- EVERY ONE -- of the world's religions promotes peaceable co-existence with one's fellows. There is NO TRUE TENET of ANY religion that advocates killing others to get right with God.

Terrorism is evil, and against all credos. There are other ways to make one's point.

However, the swift global broadcast of the details of terrorist intentions presents another problem. The Main Stream Media are the primary purveyors of the terror that accompanies these plots. Within seconds, everyone within broadcast reach who is paying attention is informed of the threat. The climate of fear is once again aggravated, and the message of hate is spread far and wide.

A few misguided zealots with a low-budget video camera can reap millions of dollars of free publicity simply by sending their tape to Al Jazeera, Reuters, or CNN. They don't even have to actually blow anything up to scare people. All they have to do is look threatening on camera.

We crave sensationalism. Watching videos of bombings is as attractive today as watching wild beasts in the Roman Circus was a couple millennia ago. Drivers rubberneck at crash scenes, not looking to see the possible cause but hoping for a glimpse of blood.

Shouldn't the media be more responsible? We have some mild precedents. Television broadcasters stopped showing hockey fights to suppress the bloodlust in the onlookers, and in hopes that players would stop performing for the crowd. Fights had been getting out of hand.

It's a thorny issue. The Viet Nam War was brought to an end because of public pressure -- chiefly in response to the images we were seeing of that war. We realized that the war wasn't thousands of miles away in a foreign country, it was in our living rooms, and the combatants included our sons.

If we start asking the media to broadcast only those stories that promote unity instead of fear, we hand them the power to judge what is good and what is not. Very bad idea. While I firmly believe that there are some stories that should NOT be splayed across the media on the excuse that "The people have a right to know", freedom of the press is one of our most precious privileges.

There is no easy solution. You can stay informed without being at the mercy of the fearmongers. If we cannot stop the spread of hate or fear at the global level, we can certainly do something at the personal level. I choose to use the OFF button generously, and simply not read materials that promote hate or fear, no matter where they come from.

Vindicated Yet Again!

I am a technical communicator (among other things). Our motto is "no nit too small to pick". Especially when it comes to documentation. I am also an English teacher. Therefore, I'm a double whammy for any student, client, or unsuspecting text maker who plays fast and loose with punctuation, grammar and usage.

Rather heartening recently to hear that precise comma placement has been upheld in the courts. Much to Rogers Communications dismay, an unfortunate comma in a contract may cost them more than 2 million dollars. The punctuation question was sufficient reason for the other party in the contract, Aliant, to test it in court, and win.

Page 7 of the contract states: The agreement “shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.”

Rogers thought it had locked in the deal for five years. Aliant disagreed, saying the second comma lends meaning to the sentence such that the clause "unless and until..." applies to the first part of the sentence AS WELL AS the second part. The regulator upheld this reading, according to the rules of punctuation.

Next time a techwriter or an English teacher tells you where to put (or NOT put) your comma, believe her. Especially if you're a lawyer.