Errors stop readers (and subscriptions?)

I don't know if The Bee's proofreading staff is overworked, indifferent, or incompetent, but something should be done to ensure that errors like these aren't allowed into the paper every day.

A reader takes the Sacramento Bee to task for errors, and the public editor responds. He includes a response from Mort Saltzman, the managing editor who oversees the copy desk.

"There really is no excuse for inaccurate or inappropriate language in the newspaper, of all places," said Saltzman. "Do we systematically work at improving our grammar? I'm not sure. We are very much focused on improving our writing ... and good grammar is part of that."

"We as a newspaper need to do more about it than just talk about it," he added.

What's surprising to me about this article is that there isn't the usual explanation of how much copy goes through a desk on any given night, an explanation of how errors will sometimes slip through because of the sheer number of words we process. I'm not sure what that says, if anything.