John McKay grabs two points in the extra credit contest for finding errors in two Michigan Live stories

John McKay has leaped into a tie for second place with Jessica M. in the race for extra credit.

The first error he caught was in a story about a Holly teen who is accused of taking video of the girls' locker room at Holly High School. The story included a sentence referencing the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, which was followed by both a "who" and a "which" to introduce a dependent clause. Since it's an office, the correct word is "which." Probably what happened was the reporter or editor was rewriting the sentence from originally referring to the prosecutor as an individual. It's that type of mistake in rewriting that I often make, and a good one to be aware of. Always re-read your work.

The second error showed how a headline incorrectly listed the wrong first name for the subject of a story ("Anthony" instead of "Andrew"). All reporters and editors should take the time to double-check all proper nouns in the story. Messing up simple stuff like that undermines a publication's credibility.

Lastly, McKay sought a third point that I haven't decided on yet, and I'm leaning against awarding a point. He questioned the headline: "Days numbered for turkey terrorists." He echoed the concern a commenter had on the story, stating this was an inappropriate use for the word "terrorists." Deciding on taste is another important judgment editors have to make. In this case, I personally think it's acceptable, and that the concern is an over-reaction. But maybe my judgment of community standards is off. What does the rest of the class think about the use of the word? If there's enough people who agree with McKay, he gets the point. Weigh in by commenting or during our class discussion tomorrow.