In the New Yorker...

[Jeff Wrangler]

Buttons are extremely easy to sew on, though kind of a bother and I never seem to get around to it. They're practically the way you'd think from looking at them. There are a couple of other little tricks but a YouTube tutorial or even a 10-step written list would make you an expert in no time.

Oh, I manage to sew on buttons. I've done shirts and trousers and even a sport coat. The job just doesn't turn out very nice. You probably wouldn't believe the bird's nest of thread I end up with on the "back side." It holds, but it isn't very neat.

[serious crayons]

Oh, I manage to sew on buttons. I've done shirts and trousers and even a sport coat. The job just doesn't turn out very nice. You probably wouldn't believe the bird's nest of thread I end up with on the "back side." It holds, but it isn't very neat.

Well, at least it's on the back. But that's where a YouTube tutorial might help.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I managed to push through the article on North Korean hacking (April 26 and May 3), but at least I came across one phrase that made me very happy. The author discusses an event known as the International Collegiate Programming Contest, which he then describes as "a festival of unsurpassed and joyful nerdery."

"Nerdery?"

 

(I also recommend the Talk of the Town piece about weed psychics in Maine.)

[Jeff Wrangler]

Let's play a little game: Rewrite The New Yorker sentence.

This is from the May 10 article about Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland. Here's the original:

"'Nicola was probably one of the few who was able to,' Shona Robison, a former S.N.P. Cabinet secretary, who has known both politicians for thirty years, said."

I think there are lots of ways this could be done, for example, using a semicolon, or even breaking it into two sentences.

"'Nicola was probably one of the few who was able to,' Shona Robison said. A former S.N.P. Cabinet secretary, Robison has known both politicians for thirty years."

[Front-Ranger]

Yes, that convoluted type of sentence structure where they introduce the speaker, tells why he/she is relevant, and quote them, is tiring, to say the least.

I noticed this in the recent UFO article. It seems to be one quote after another, all structured in the same tortured way.

[serious crayons]

"'Nicola was probably one of the few who was able to,' Shona Robison said. A former S.N.P. Cabinet secretary, Robison has known both politicians for thirty years."

Yours is good, perhaps the best solution so the identity is even clearer. But it could be even simpler.

"'Nicola was probably one of the few who was able to,' said Shona Robison, a former S.N.P. Cabinet secretary, who has known both politicians for thirty years., said.

I don't think putting the verb before the subject is incorrect grammar. Of course, it would sound funny if there weren't further description: "'Nicola was ... able to,'" said she." But widely separating the subject and "said" is one of those weird New Yorkerisms that make the writing more awkward than it would need to be.

Come to think of it, I'd also probably delete the comma after "secretary."

[Jeff Wrangler]

Yours is good, perhaps the best solution so the identity is even clearer. But it could be even simpler.

"'Nicola was probably one of the few who was able to,' said Shona Robison, a former S.N.P. Cabinet secretary, who has known both politicians for thirty years., said.

I thought about something like that, but I decided, maybe just a matter of personal taste, that I didn't want to put said before Shona Robison.

[serious crayons]

I thought about something like that, but I decided, maybe just a matter of personal taste, that I didn't want to put said before Shona Robison.

Wow, in 40 years of journalism I’ve probably put “said” before “Shona Robison” (metaphorically speaking) at least 5,000 times (40 x 52 x 2-3 times or more a week).

Also, I’ve never seen any other publication, including highbrowish ones, use that awkward stretched out approach the New Yorker often does. Maybe they use your method more than mine, but I definitely don’t see them doing that.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Wow, in 40 years of journalism I’ve probably put “said” before “Shona Robison” (metaphorically speaking) at least 5,000 times (40 x 52 x 2-3 times or more a week).

I don't think my journalism teacher would have approved of that, but that was something like 40 years ago, and he was probably old-fashioned even for then.

Also, I’ve never seen any other publication, including highbrowish ones, use that awkward stretched out approach the New Yorker often does. Maybe they use your method more than mine, but I definitely don’t see them doing that.

I've never seen it anyplace else, either, but they'll never change.

[serious crayons]

Forty years ago -- this September! -- was when I started working in journalism. AFAIK, I used it right away, because I don't remember any restriction involving the "said before name" format.

Curious, I went through a few of my stories from the past couple of weeks, searched "said," and found that among stories that had quotes at all, they had between one and three in the "said" first format. Here are some samples. Just for fun, I'll put them in New Yorkerese.

The first three are from a story about a former golf course being developed into a neighborhood of $1-$2 million houses. Just for fun, I'll put them in New Yorkerese.

"It was a Joe Sixpack kind of golf course," resident Tim Schneeweis, who plays golf, said. "Now that's being taken away, and who's the property going to? People who can afford a $2 million home."

"This could be a community gathering place — a barn for weddings, a skating oval, winter carnivals, cross-country and golf meets," Paul Hillen, who lives near the property, said. "Just because you can develop this land, should you? Because once it's gone it's gone forever."

"We don't want to pay for their private park — that's what they assumed the golf course was to them," resident Tom Klick said, noting that a larger and denser development was approved near where he lives, on the eastern side of Plymouth.

Uses for which the current zoning allows could be even less welcome, David Haas, who favors the housing plan, said.

Those aren't too bad. In fact, Klick's quote is probably actually better that way.

Here are some from a story about parents in a school district raising money to buy more books with characters and authors of color.

"Mom, she's just like me — she has dark hair like me and her skin is just like mine!" Esme, whose hair and skin resemble those of her father, who is third-generation Mexican, said.

"She just lit up," Cruz, who is white, said. "Most of the other fairies are white and I think that night she just happened to notice it more."

School librarians generally agree on the need for diverse characters and authors, Lori Peralez, media specialist at Bluff Creek Elementary in Chanhassen, said. The school district has already been working to diversify its collection.

"Making that change can be challenging," Sarah Park Dahlen, an associate professor of library and information science at St. Catherine University who specializes in children's and young adult materials, said.

Those are a little less successful. The last one would be an example of a ridiculous New Yorker format.