We have heard a lot of comments and reaction from people about our decision to publish a photograph of a memorial for Howard Plouff. I’ve attached it above. It’s of a sign that reads in part “YOUR OUR HERO” instead of “OUR HERO”.
The criticism is that we ran a photo that is embarrassing to the WSPD.
The photo by photographer Lauren Carroll is very strong, and while it’s true that it is hard to look at it without seeing the grammatical mistake, I don’t believe that the mistake negates the picture or means we shouldn’t run it. It is what it is. It’s a tribute.
Journal policy is that we quote people faithfully and accurately but also that we don’t go out of our way to make somebody look foolish. With quotes, it is easy when somebody doesn’t speak the King’s English. We can paraphrase. But a photograph is different. We’re not going to photoshop an E and an apostrophe into that picture.
The larger points are that 1) we can’t be the grammar police for the world and 2) that we didn’t go out of our way to find this photo. It’s part of breaking news, and for us to tell folks “We’d like to go take a picture of it, but you need to get the grammar fixed first” makes us part of the story.
Let me know your thoughts.
Your host is Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal. It's a forum to discuss the media, from 
I am told that the red pen clipped on the top of the sign in the picture is for correcting the error. Howie was known for taking a red pen to correct the reports of the officers in his squad, and he will be around soon enough to grab the pen and correct this sign, too, they say.
I wonder if they will replace the sign?
Hmmm. That’s very interesting. Didn’t even see the pen. Good catch…
Thanks
According to the brave men and women from his Platoon, they made this error on purpose because Sergeant Plouff was such a stickler for correct grammar in reports, and because he always enjoyed jokes! Each of these officers and their families are suffering the grief of losing a member of the family. They need these small gestures to help them through it.
Hence the reason, the sign has not been corrected.
Thanks. That’s a nice gesture.
Ken,
I think the whole insider reference is a really poignant part of the story and it would be great if you guys could somehow find a way to share that with the print readers as well. Maybe as part of Bits & Pieces on saturday?
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