Jill Geisler, one of the first women TV news directors and now a
faculty member of The Poynter Institute, once wrote to Mrs. B:
"In my old newsroom we had our own `Grammar Police'--a
team of us, mostly journalists educated early in life by strict
nuns. (We were inept at math and science, but, oh, could we
diagram a sentence!) Our news folks knew that they could come
to the Grammar Police at any time for a painless consultation.
"Setting up that kind of team can be a great way to draw on the
strengths of a news staff. You can actually get to the point where
it's considered a gift, not a gotcha, for colleagues to note
misspellings in copy and let the writer know about it. When that
happens, you know you are on your way to building a strong
writing culture in a newsroom."
Mrs. B considers Jill Geisler a kindred spirit and invites you to be
one, too.
Ocala, Florida 2002
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"Often you must turn your stylus to erase, if you hope to write
anything worth a second reading."
--Horace, poet and satirist (65-8 BCE)
