In an utterly brilliant riposte to the New York Times' public editor's ridiculous question as to whether his paper should be a "truth vigilante," Juli Weiner of Vanity Fair questions whether her publication has an obligation to spell "words" correctly.
One example: the word “maintenance” seems like it should only have one “a” in it. It should be “maintenence,” right? But it’s not. So is it our job as reporters and editors to spell it correctly?
As a sometime author of what I hope are satirical essays, I tip my hat to Ms. Weiner, who continues
Another example: who decides “Michele Bachmann” should be spelled with one “l” in “Michele” and two “n”s in “Bachmann”? I’ve never seen it spelled like that in any other circumstance, so should we print it just because that’s how she spells it? I don’t know.
Do yourself a favor: Go read the piece in its entirety.
http://www.vanityfair.com/...