Comments on: This Is Interesting

By: Gauis Arbo

Gauis Arbo — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 16:18:36 +0000

Thanks forclarifying that. It’s odd I never noticed that quirk before.

I rather like the “Mr. Loaf” thing. I’ll have to use that one if I ever have occasion to blog about him.

I think it unlikely I’d ever blog about him, but hey, you never know.

By: Sven

Sven — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 16:02:07 +0000

They use “Mr.” on second reference unless its a direct quote. I wouldn’t characterize it as “normal” – it’s quite eccentric – but The Times has indeed been doing it this way for 150 years. It was intended as a way for the Times to distinguish itself from the other New York papers.

It’s actually kind of entertaining to watch, especially when one of the Times’ house rules conflicts with another. Look for how it treats the honorific “Dr.” The rule is to use Dr. instead of Mr. if the former is related to the person’s role being described in the story. Thus Bill Frist was “Mr. Frist” until he administered medical aid to Strom Thurmund on the Senate floor in 2001. He’s been Dr. Frist since.

The treatment of celebrities is particularly hilarious. The TImes famously referred to Syd Vicious of the Sex Pistols as “Mr. Vicious” and the singer Meat Loaf as “Mr. Loaf.” That prompted a big protest by reporters, who rightly said that the rigid application of the rule was making them look stupid.

After a big internal debate, the muckety mucks decided to amend the Mr. entry in the style manual. It now says that referring to Meat Loaf as Mr. Loaf is “overliteral.”

By: Gauis Arbo

Gauis Arbo — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 12:12:15 +0000

Yeah, but is this normal? It seems weird. I honestly don’t think I have seen this before. Even the Times has refered to him as “the president” or “Bush” – I don’t recall the Mr. before this.

By: Sven

Sven — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 05:48:56 +0000

The writers have no say in these matters; it’s the copy editor’s purview. The Times has it’s own style guide and is famous for rigid and sometimes comical adherence to it.

Unlike most newspapers, the Times uses courtesy titles in news stories (but not in editorials or “light” stories, such as lifestyle or fashion): John Smith on first reference, Mr. Smith on later references). This applies even when the person holds a non-courtesy title: Mayor John Smith on first reference, Mr. Smith or the mayor on the second.