See writing letters DOES help

today, I wrote this:

In your story, “Seattle man charged in 2nd hate-crime
case
,” you have identified the victim as “a man who
was dressed as a woman.” In fact, the victim is transgender and
identifies as a woman. According to both the AP Style Guide and the New
York Times Style Guide, she should therefore by identified as a woman by
the press and female pronouns should be used. To call her a man is
incorrect and offensive and is using the same logic that her attacker
likely used.

I hope you can correct this article and avoid making this mistake again
in the future.

And I got a reply:

Your message regarding the story about the bus shelter assault was
forwarded to me because I wrote the item. I used the language that was
in the charging papers without realizing it would be hurtful or
offensive. Thanks for raising my awareness. Had you not written in, I
might have made the same mistake in the future.

Oh, man, that totally helped!
See, so writing to newspapers is not just spinning your wheels! So carry forth! We will make this a better world, one reporter at a time!

Published by

Charles Céleste Hutchins

Supercolliding since 2003

2 thoughts on “See writing letters DOES help”

  1. That is fascinating that you received such a polite response! If that doesn't give someone a sliver of hope for the future …!

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