The Associated Press filed a story today entitled "12 gold miners dead in Guinea after collapse."
In that story the author said:
"A rescue operation was underway to try and find the eight who remained missing after the collapse early Wednesday but authorities said the hope of finding more survivors was slim." [Emphasis added.]
"Try and find?" Really. So, they're going to try to do something, we don't know what, and they're going to find them?
It should be "try to find." I know people say and write "try and ... " all the time, but it isn't correct.
If the Associated Press can't get it right in a written story, where the author has plenty of time to check his or her work and has an editor who should be doing the same, is there any hope for the average person getting it right?
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As far as I can tell, news outlets have been pretty open about rethinking their priorities because of the new online and 24 hour news culture. Speed now trumps accuracy because being first has been proven to sell more product (papers, ads, subscriptions, online memberships), drive more traffic, and bring more notoriety than being right. It's a sad reality, but it is the reality. Editing and fact-checking every article is no longer cost effective.
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