Spell the Name Right

It was publicity hound P.T. Barnum who is credited with the quote “I don’t care what they say as long as they spell my name right.” Wonder if his name was as hard for the media to get right as “Dinneen.”

Bob’s name is frequently spelled “Dineen” by the media - like this recent Reuters story. Now seriously, they could spell Urbanchuk right but not Dinneen?

When I was in Journalism school back in the old days, it was considered a major fact error to get someone’s name wrong. And in today’s world of the internet, double-checking is just a click away.

In fact, the article was written by one person and edited by another. Someone should have been able to check.

The good news is, it was a positive article making RFA’s point that a waiver of the RFS would increase gasoline prices even more. So, in this case, Bob probably doesn’t care that they spelled his name wrong - the message was more important.

Update: Just noticed that the AP story on today’s hearing about the RFS by the House Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality also spelled Bob’s name wrong, even though it is spelled correctly on the witness list. Sorry, but as a journalist that really bothers me.