Economic ‘Typo’ Times

I have been reading ET (India) pretty regularly, ever since it was dropped outside my B-school dorm entrance on a daily basis. I found the newspaper very well laid out and insightful, to say the least. Articles were consistently well written and ads were consistently non-intrusive. Another consistent element, though, was the ‘typos.’ I thought a mistake here and there once in a while was acceptable but I have been seeing spelling mistakes and grammatical errors on a consistent basis.

In comparison, I also read the WSJ when I was in B-school in Spain. I wouldn’t say that the articles were any less/more interesting but I never came across spelling mistakes or typos. In addition to its very structured look, with articles evenly organized in columns and the use of graphs and trends, the absence of spelling/grammatical errors gave it a very professional feel.

Having said that, despite the errors, I am more drawn to the Economic Times here in India. I am not sure whether it’s because there’s more exciting stuff happening in India (the scams being unearthed in additional to the increasing inflation, interest rates and the ‘consolidation’ happening in multiple industries) or the mere fact that ET’s pale yellow coloured pages make it stand out. It could be a combination of those factors.

It might seem trivial but the language errors do exhibit a lack of professionalism. It could very well be compared to an applicant sending his/her CV or Cover Letter with spelling mistakes to a company of choice. He/she might be the best at what he/she does, but that first impression would be a lasting one (if not the last one).  I do wish that the editing team at ET India put a little more effort into ensuring correct use of language and grammar. It would only help boost ET’s image.