Don't spit into the wind

"The key to this fire is battling the very strong winds."

(How's that working out for you?)

Which he is He?

I think I know which he is He, but a quick scan might leave the impresssion our judge is in jail!

"Judge Rich Melnick set bail at $20,000 and appointed attorney Steven Rucker to represent Whitaker. He was in the Clark County Jail early Wednesday."

Which who?

50 protesters arrested in Atlanta, Oakland crowds hit with tear gas

Were the 50 protestors hit with tear gas, or were the crowds hit with tear gas?

Is it is, or is it are?

From B3's favorite print media (not):
"His staffers in the Office of Economic Analysis also is responsible for projections of adult inmates in state prisons and young offenders in state juvenile centers."

Ending children?

B3 remembered this caption as saying "...working to end childhood children." So the true gaffe isn't nearly as bad as it could have been:

"Women Ending Hunger held the inaugural Food for Thought rally in 2010 to raise awareness about the plight of childhood children."

Numbers Count

"And the hardest hit were in San Diego, were all 1.4 customers were without power..."

Me thinks "million" is missing. I know we're all hearing millions, billions, and trillions thrown about interchangeably, but isn't being off by six zeros just too much? Sadly, this was from a really good NPR reporter.

Word choices is good

B3 has been sending me some good ones. Here's one (I'm behind, so I need to hunt for the others, sorry!):

"What those initial findings found is the temperatures on the mainstem is controlled by the dams."

Two comments: inanimates in action! And tense, of course.
1. Initial findings found something? A better start to the phrase might be, "The initial finding is the temperatures...."
2. And if the object is "temperatures" then we need "are controlled"

Oh, no, money problems in the studio!

"And volunteers are standing by the phones to take your call and help on money issues here in the K-2 studios."

Another print...

Sorry I haven't been watching TV news much. In the meantime, here's one from print, and not actually the fault of the reporter:

"We're always constantly trying..."

['cuz that's SO much better than sometimes constantly trying, or always sometimes trying]

Sorry Brooke, this was a quote from your department's spokesman!

A terrible thing

[From the scene of a shooting] "This was such a terrible thing to happen because this is an open area." [Because shooting's are better when they are in an isolated area?]

Who did what? Or what did who?

Okay, this is a print headline: "Hillsboro police officer charged with harassing passenger of DUII suspect's car acquitted on all charges." First, there is a general rule that headlines should be eight words or less. I think it exists exactly for this reason. Second: okay, I think this means the officer was acquitted. BUT the layout broke at such a point that I was left with the thought "...suspect's car acquitted on all charges." HOW ABOUT: Hillsboro officer acquitted on harassment charge.

Priorities

Teaser: "The important decision Kate Middleton has to make before the big event." Later: "Whether to wear a tiara or flowers in her hair." [These isn't a gaffe (per se) but still a poor choice of words -- important decision -- compared to true news of the day.]

Will be was

"The north runway will be closed from [pause] late last year [longer pause, frustration] and reopen ... sometime later this ... next year" [didn't sound convincing; she may have been making up that last part; perhaps the teleprompter died.]

Oh, the tenseness!

"Here at the market you can feel the tenseness..." [Hint: should be tension ]

What we didn't know?

Teaser: "Coming up, what we found out today about what really happened the day President Reagan was shot." [Wow, you mean he wasn't shot after all? No, that wasn't it. And everything in the follow-up we already knew, so what was with the teaser?]

Coming and going

"2% of our food is exported from Japan."
[Do I have to explain?]

Newspapers

Posting a quote at a reader's request, from a newspaper: "People who run at least three times a week are more likely to live than people who don't."
[Thus running could lead to eternal life.]

Dead or alive

And the always popular toss: "Reporting live from Sylvan hill..."
[I always thought it worked better than reporting dead from Sylvan hill...]

Jet

"And that tsunami, that wave, was traveling as fast as an airline."

[Delta or Southwest?]

Photos

"Send us your photos. And here's a tip: use the landscape or portrait setting."
[Umm, versus the diagonal setting?]

Scaffolding

On scene of the tornado aftermath: "You can see they have already taken measures to protect property, such as the scaffolding around this building."
[She's standing in front of chain link fence.]