Misspellings, Bad Grammar And Typos Do For County Magazine
EAT your heart out Total Politics, in the US a magazine has lasted not even a single issue.
Cook County magazine joins the likes of Catholicism For Kids, Teach Yourself American French and Not Well Endowed (a Canadian business magazine) on the list of failed organs.
The brains behind Cook County magazine was Cook County Board president Todd Stroger. And do you want to know why it failed?
Publisher/editor Theresa Tracy said the magazine would be “independently published” and a “credible, compelling and valuable resource” for county residents.
Stroger paid Tracy $24,999 to launch the title. Interestingly, as the Chicago Sun Times reports,” $1 under the amount that would have required the approval of the full Cook County Board.”
Tracy said there should be no “perception that we were just a house organ.” Indeed not. But the CST has evidence that council officials were seeking a “non-threatening news environment that ensures regular, positive press – to counter-balance negative press often found in the mainstream media.”
Who would have thunk it, a junior Prada in the US heartlands?
The cover story is an interview with Stroger that starts by asking him, “How are you feeling these days?” There’s also a short obituary for Stroger’s late father and predecessor as county board president, John H. Stroger Jr., who died in January. It misspells his name.
The magazine also includes tips on gardening, planning a picnic and getting the proper permits, as well as a recipe for orange crab salad, which may or may not be Stroger’s favourite meal.
The print run ran to 5,000 copies.
But why has it not been distributed?
Says Stroger spokesman Eugene Mullins:
“Judging on grammatical stuff – something misspelled or that’s not a complete sentence – falls back on the president. And this is a Cook County magazine. I have to find a way to get rid of them. I’m not distributing them.”
Anorak would love to see the offending organ, and wonders if Mr Mullins should burn all but one copy and so make it so very collectable…
Posted: 29th, July 2008 | In: Politicians Comments (9) | TrackBack | Permalink
