Bloopers! Of Course Spelling Counts
If you ask anyone who works in the broadcasting industry, they'll probably tell you that aside from technical glitches with equipment, the worst job experience is making a verbal mistake during a live broadcast.
After all, once it's out there you can't get it back, and if you're not careful the moment will be captured and relived in the form of a blooper segment.
It could be a slip of the tongue, a distraction before going live, a rotten case of the giggles or, as one of my favorite comedy newsmen Les Nesman discovered, a mere typo could change the whole meaning of what you're trying to convey to the audience.
I used to have a lot of fun when I was teaching broadcast journalism students.
Almost every semester I would have a broadcast student say, "Does spelling count?"
So, when I put a script in front of them riddled with several spelling errors and asked them to deliver the script, they quickly realized what a predicament they were in, verbally.
I guess that's why I find news bloopers and parodies so funny. I can completely relate.
You'll probably be pleased to know I have no intention of delivering the news like Opera Man!