Just a Mistake?

Two weeks ago I emailed the editor of the A(city) Press Citizen information about Doug's announcement to run for senate. Emailed. I emailed a picture and a bio. Here is the bio:

Douglas (last name removed) lives in (city) with his wife, Jody, and daughter, Brenna. He is a software developer currently working in the health care industry.

Douglas was born in 1968 in El Paso, TX while his father was stationed at Fort Bliss. His family moved back to Iowa before Douglas began school and his formative years were spent in Iowa's rural communities. When he was 17 Douglas enlisted in the Iowa National Guard and between his junior and senior years of high school completed boot camp.

In 1989 he went on active duty and was stationed with the First Infantry Division at Fort Riley, KS. He was deployed to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait during Desert Storm and was selected Soldier of the Year in 1991, while still in Saudi Arabia.

Douglas left the Army in 1996 with an honorable discharge. As his parents were in Texas he settled there, accepting a civilian job and quickly earning promotions to a management position.

In 1998 Douglas moved back to Iowa, settling in (city), and began working as a computer consultant for many Des Moines companies. It is a job that he enjoys; figuring things out, solving problems, building the solution, making jobs easier and more profitable.

These are the same skills Douglas will bring to the state senate. By solving the state's problems and working toward solutions to ensure an equal playing field for all Iowans.

Apparently the editor felt the need to change a few things because what appeared in the paper was not what I sent in. The most obvious error? They misspelled our last name. Not just once, but every time it was listed. Including the headline.

I am pissed beyond all belief. All he had to do was copy and paste. Did the guy think I can't spell my own name? Is he a Democrat and wanted to take a little stab at a Republican? Did he spell-check and take a recommendation? Honestly, there is just no excuse for this.

I have calls in to the publisher, the editor and anyone else I can complain to. It's gonna take more than a little blurb on page 11 to make this right.

Anyone want to join me on this bandwagon of complaint? Email the editor from this page. Let him know how annoyed you are that he can't deliver reliable news.

Grrrr....

New info:

I just spoke with the publisher who,it appears,has absolutely no power. My understanding is that they are going to print a small notation on the front page next week indicating the error. No amount of arguing would change his mind. I am just not satisified with this. Please, please, please, email the editor, let him know you are not satisified with this shoddy news reporting. According to the publisher the editor "thought he misspelled the name so he went through and changed it". When I asked why he didn't check against the info I sent I got the inane answer "if we checked things more we wouldn't have mistakes".

Well,duh. I thought that was the point; to NOT have mistakes.