Did you spot the mistakes?

A wise editor I once worked for used to say when the proverbial hit the fan: “When doctors make mistakes, they bury them. When newspapers make mistakes, they publish them!”

This was certainly the case last week when The Highway rolled off the printing presses with not one, but two horrendous spelling errors in the main headline and a scattering of grammar and spelling errors throughout the paper.

It wasn’t long before the phones began to ring and editor Robyn Scott’s email inbox filled up as readers responded in all manner of ways. There were the abusive calls and letters, there were the dazed and confused, there were the outraged, there were those who found it hilarious, there were those who were sympathetic and understanding and there were those who wanted to know if we’d spotted the mistakes!

Every emotion displayed by our readers was felt in equal measure by staff at Highway Mail. We were every bit as shocked and disappointed. We were embarrassed. We were humiliated. This was compounded by the fact that social media sites were abuzz with comments as readers shared our shame with their list of friends. At one stage, it seemed as though the news had spread throughout the country with comments from as far afield as Cape Town.

In truth the cause was far less sensational than what anyone may have thought.

In recent weeks, The Highway Mail has launched a number of websites for its stable of newspapers. In order to make the switch to digital, we have had to install new computer programmes and systems which have come with their own set of teething problems. Readers are sure to have noticed how the new system corrupted punctuation marks, turning apostrophes and inverted commas into hieroglyphics.

Last week, when sending pages through the system to our printing press the system pulled up first drafts of the pages instead of the final, corrected drafts. The first inkling staff had of the error was when the first copies were delivered to our offices. By then, the delivery vans were on their way and it was too late to make any corrections.

The Highway Mail apologises to all our readers for the substandard copy delivered last week. To all of those who took the time to phone, write or send an e-mail we extend our thanks. To all those retired English teachers and newspaper hacks who offered their services as proofreaders, we say thank you for your interest. To the Grade 7 class at Hillcrest Primary School who learned a valuable lesson in spelling and subbing, we say, good on you and well done for spotting the mistakes! We hope the print gremlins avoid this week’s Highway Mail and you receive the same quality newspaper we have strived to deliver for more than 60 years.