How Many Typos Can You Find?

It seems that articles about the decline of printed media are becoming more prevalent these days. Newspapers are laying off staff to compensate for the lack of circulation, magazine jobs are even fewer and more unobtainable. I don't see these news sources dying out anytime soon, but I have to wonder about the cost of the small cutbacks that are being made while these publications downsize. More and more, I find myself noticing typos in various publications. These are usually minor errors - a misplaced comma, an extra "s" that created a plural word in place of a singular one - but they pop out, especially to those of us who took a load of journalism and English classes in undergrad. I have a hard time believing that the staff cutbacks at printed media outlets have not effected the quality of these publications in some way or another. Reporters are rushed to cover more stories, copy editors have to check a larger number of drafts and everyone is in a hurry.

From my standpoint in the public relations arena, I wonder how - and if - I can help those frenzied reporters so that when they write about my news and events, they get everything accurate. I also wonder if this is something that will continue as virtual media continues to grow and more traditional sources of information taper off. How many mistakes will have to be made before someone realizes something needs to be done? Will it become a question of quality and reputation over the bottom line?