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Guess they don't know how to use spell check, lol! you would think an editor would approve the wording prior of being display.
Live TV news moves too fast to have someone approve the spelling or use spellcheck. If the director sees it as incorrect, he or she should request it be removed. But by that time, it's time for the next story anyway.
A producer will review all stories to be sure they are in the appropriate order, are consistent, are correct length, etc., but the producer doesn't have much to do with the person (sometimes called assistant director) sitting in the control room tapping out the words that will display on the screen. The director will have the script, but he (or she) has other juggling to do.
It's often darkened in the control room. Maybe the person typing the words can't see the keyboard. And can't spell.
Hi folks. Let me clarify a couple of things. I spent six years in local TV news, both as the technician responsible for putting the names, graphics, etc. together and on the air, and as a news producer. It really depends on the system being used. In my shop, the producer was largely responsible for entering the data that populated the smaller "banner" graphics that appeared at the bottom of the screen (or the reporter, if it was a story they were putting together in the field) . The system would auto generate the graphics, based on the template number entered along with the information itself. Full-screen graphics were also requested by the producer within the system, but it was the technician who actually put those together since they were a little more complex in terms of layout. At the end of the day, it was the technician's responsibility to review everything and make sure they were spelled correctly prior to going on air. It did get a bit dicey during breaking news situations when the producer was adding/updating things in real-time and things went on-air as soon as they were entered in the system.
As for the standard newscast responsibilities, the graphics technician cues things up in a "standby" monitor a few seconds before they are supposed to go on-air, the director then overlays them on the video or whatever and hits the button that puts them on the screen.
Again, it really depends on the system and standard processes, but that's how we did things when I was in the business.
Hi folks. Let me clarify a couple of things. I spent six years in local TV news, both as the technician responsible for putting the names, graphics, etc. together and on the air, and as a news producer. It really depends on the system being used. In my shop, the producer was largely responsible for entering the data that populated the smaller "banner" graphics that appeared at the bottom of the screen (or the reporter, if it was a story they were putting together in the field) . The system would auto generate the graphics, based on the template number entered along with the information itself. Full-screen graphics were also requested by the producer within the system, but it was the technician who actually put those together since they were a little more complex in terms of layout. At the end of the day, it was the technician's responsibility to review everything and make sure they were spelled correctly prior to going on air. It did get a bit dicey during breaking news situations when the producer was adding/updating things in real-time and things went on-air as soon as they were entered in the system.
As for the standard newscast responsibilities, the graphics technician cues things up in a "standby" monitor a few seconds before they are supposed to go on-air, the director then overlays them on the video or whatever and hits the button that puts them on the screen.
Again, it really depends on the system and standard processes, but that's how we did things when I was in the business.
So, "At the end of the day, it was the technician's responsibility to review everything and make sure they were spelled correctly prior to going on air." And, unfortunately, techies generally aren't good spellers.
Dunno if it's fair to paint all production staff with that broad a brush, most do take a great deal of pride in what they do. But people only tend to notice when a mistake is made, especially considering the visibility of things.
I do suggest contacting one of the nearby stations and seeing if it's possible to sit in the control room during a live newscast. It's pretty eye-opening to see the organized chaos that goes on behind the scenes.
Tech personnel are responsible for the words on the screen most of the time, and techies generally are awful spellers, no matter where they work.
I'm really kind of surprised (at myself) that I'm actually offended by this lol. I'm a "techie" and every "techie" I've ever worked with has been a good speller. My managers on the other hand (not "techies"), are awful spellers. Terrible with grammar, too!
I've never worked in TV, and perhaps someone on here who has can correct me if I'm wrong. But to me as a viewer, I actually find the spelling errors in graphics on the news less puzzling than the mispronunciation of words, which Rdanville mentioned also. As others have said, a spelling error here and there is not desirable, but it's probably unavoidable. Everybody's human, and I can see how a word can get misspelled now and then, especially when the person is typing in haste, as is often the case in local television news like lovebrentwood described. And in most cases, regardless of which person made the spelling error or who is responsible for it, I'd imagine that it is simply a matter of an errant keystroke or momentary carelessness in a rush, rather than that person actually not knowing how that word is supposed to be spelled. And in most cases, a basic spelling error on some banner graphic isn't going to really affect the viewer's understanding of what the news crew was trying to communicate. A mispronunciation, on the other hand, seems different to me. I'm not talking about merely stumbling over words or a moment of awkward diction—again, those are minor human errors that can happen to anyone. I mean those instances when a TV personality says a word or a name clearly and cleanly, yet clearly simply pronounces it wrong. They really can sometimes impede understanding of what's trying to be said. And to me, I feel like it reflects some level of genuine ignorance on the part of the speaker. To be sure, when someone's in a hurry it may not be possible for them to know how to properly pronounce every single word that they could possibly be asked to say, especially obscure technical words or foreign place names. But in general, it seems reasonable to expect a professional television (or radio) broadcaster to know how to correctly pronounce all common, standard English words, all prominent, well-known place names, significant local place names (towns, major streets, etc.), and the names of prominent public figures. And I would think that they could or should know those pronunciations well enough that even if they're having to speak about something that they didn't get to prepare for, or even speaking extemporaneously, they could still pronounce those words and names correctly pretty much 100% of the time. But yet I, too, hear people on TV (not necessarily specific to the local ABC-11 channel) significantly mispronouncing words and names with surprising frequency. It baffles me. But maybe it shouldn't. I don't know.
Yeah, the producers are supposed to put in pronunciations for difficult names, but they sometimes don't come through the teleprompter in a way that's easy to read on the fly. The anchors are supposed to review the scripts prior to the show and rewrite those difficult names in a way that they'll be able to remember while on air, but it doesn't always work out as planned (reads get switched on the fly, the prompter falls behind, etc.).
You can always spot a newbie by how they pronounce Duraleigh.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KYWFU99
Yeah, the producers are supposed to put in pronunciations for difficult names, but they sometimes don't come through the teleprompter in a way that's easy to read on the fly. The anchors are supposed to review the scripts prior to the show and rewrite those difficult names in a way that they'll be able to remember while on air, but it doesn't always work out as planned (reads get switched on the fly, the prompter falls behind, etc.).
Yeah, again, for difficult, unusual words or names, it's understandable that they may get mispronounced sometimes. But to me, it seems like professional broadcasters should know how to pronounce basic English vocabulary words, the names of nationally and internationally famous places and people, and basic local place names and terminology, even without the help of the teleprompter. evaofnc mentioned Duraleigh, and other commonly mispronounced local names include (the infamous) Mebane, Hayti, Robeson County, Kerr Lake, Uwharrie, etc. I've heard all of those occasionally pronounced wrong by local TV people, as well as other (seemingly) fairly basic and obvious words and names, and it surprises me. I guess it shouldn't surprise me, and it doesn't really matter anyway, but it is interesting.
As an aside, the name "Duraleigh" is of course sort of an odd one to begin with. It seems to me that I've actually heard locals pronounce it two slightly different ways: with more emphasis either on the first syllable (DUR-a-lee) or the third syllable (dur-a-LEE), so I'm actually not sure which is truly "correct." Locals never put the stress on the middle syllable, though (duh-RAL-ee), and one hears that only from out-of-towners or inadequately prepared broadcasters.
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And can't spell.
