MANICHAEAN
04-21-2011, 09:35 AM
Gentlemen of the Press.
One group of people who would probably breathe a collective sigh of relief if a certain gentleman in Libya was to flee the scene are the sub-editors and headline writers in newspapers around the world.
The reason is that no one really know how to spell the colonel's name.
Some call him Colonel Moammar Gadhafi, as does CNN and Associated Press. But the BBC, Reuters, and Time prefer Gaddafi, while Bloomberg has settled for Kadhafi. The New York Times goes for the more exotic Qaddafi, which admittedly has a certain ring to it.
There are said to be at least 37 common versions of his name.No wonder he appears to be such a complex fellow. Apparently the colonel always signs his name in Arabic, but in a letter he sent to a US school some years ago under his signature was typed in English, "Moammar El-Gadhafi", so at least there appears to be something concrete evolving.
But the bad news for newspaper sub-editors is that Colonel K, G or Q looks like he isn't going away.
Of course, there are some world leaders and politicians who, unlike Gadhafi, have names that are a delight for headline writers. Someone who was particularly popular in this respect was British politician Michael Foot. He played his part by obligingly breaking his foot shortly after becoming Labour Party leader, prompting headlines like "Foot Breaks Foot" and "Off On The Wrong Foot". But the most creative effort came when he had been put in charge of a nuclear disarmament committee and the Times came up with the splendid "Foot Heads Arms Body".
Most politicians steer clear of reading the tabloid press in England and for good reason. Even President Barack Obama can't escape the tabloid fun and games. His meeting with the Dalai Lama last year took on a musical note when the English newspaper The Sun came up with the frivolous, "Obama Lama Ding Dong".
Some headlines are meant to deliberately mislead in a playful sort of way as in the 1970s when a London newspaper carried the somewhat alarming "Queen In Brawl At Palace". They were referring to a footballer called Gerry Queen who was sent off in a game at Crystal Palace.
Another headline that raised eyebrows in the 1990s was "Banana Accused of Sex Offence". This was not a report on a misbehaving fruit, but was referring to an African politician by the name of Mr Banana. who was accused of behaviour unbecoming a banana.
There are occasionally incorrect versions of the news and the computer is quite capable of doing that. Sometimes a few words totally unrelated to the rest of the article inexplicably creep in, with entertaining results.
The couple involved in the following wedding notice in the Manchester Evening News were no doubt aware marriage is bit of a gamble these days, but they were probably not too happy when they read: "The wedding will take place on July 3rd at St Mary's Church, betting 9-4 against, 6-1, 10-1."
One group of people who would probably breathe a collective sigh of relief if a certain gentleman in Libya was to flee the scene are the sub-editors and headline writers in newspapers around the world.
The reason is that no one really know how to spell the colonel's name.
Some call him Colonel Moammar Gadhafi, as does CNN and Associated Press. But the BBC, Reuters, and Time prefer Gaddafi, while Bloomberg has settled for Kadhafi. The New York Times goes for the more exotic Qaddafi, which admittedly has a certain ring to it.
There are said to be at least 37 common versions of his name.No wonder he appears to be such a complex fellow. Apparently the colonel always signs his name in Arabic, but in a letter he sent to a US school some years ago under his signature was typed in English, "Moammar El-Gadhafi", so at least there appears to be something concrete evolving.
But the bad news for newspaper sub-editors is that Colonel K, G or Q looks like he isn't going away.
Of course, there are some world leaders and politicians who, unlike Gadhafi, have names that are a delight for headline writers. Someone who was particularly popular in this respect was British politician Michael Foot. He played his part by obligingly breaking his foot shortly after becoming Labour Party leader, prompting headlines like "Foot Breaks Foot" and "Off On The Wrong Foot". But the most creative effort came when he had been put in charge of a nuclear disarmament committee and the Times came up with the splendid "Foot Heads Arms Body".
Most politicians steer clear of reading the tabloid press in England and for good reason. Even President Barack Obama can't escape the tabloid fun and games. His meeting with the Dalai Lama last year took on a musical note when the English newspaper The Sun came up with the frivolous, "Obama Lama Ding Dong".
Some headlines are meant to deliberately mislead in a playful sort of way as in the 1970s when a London newspaper carried the somewhat alarming "Queen In Brawl At Palace". They were referring to a footballer called Gerry Queen who was sent off in a game at Crystal Palace.
Another headline that raised eyebrows in the 1990s was "Banana Accused of Sex Offence". This was not a report on a misbehaving fruit, but was referring to an African politician by the name of Mr Banana. who was accused of behaviour unbecoming a banana.
There are occasionally incorrect versions of the news and the computer is quite capable of doing that. Sometimes a few words totally unrelated to the rest of the article inexplicably creep in, with entertaining results.
The couple involved in the following wedding notice in the Manchester Evening News were no doubt aware marriage is bit of a gamble these days, but they were probably not too happy when they read: "The wedding will take place on July 3rd at St Mary's Church, betting 9-4 against, 6-1, 10-1."