NY Times alters policy on ‘Marines’

[unhappycamper]

NY Times alters policy on ‘Marines’
By Andrew deGrandpré - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 25, 2009 10:11:16 EST

Leathernecks have long found it irksome — heck, they’ve downright hated the fact — that The New York Times has refused to capitalize the “m” in Marine. It’s a point of pride, Marines always argue, to which the Times has routinely replied, “Yeah, but we don’t capitalize the ‘s’ in soldier.”

Well, the Old Gray Lady has finally come to her senses. In a Feb. 18 blog post titled “When every letter counts,” Deputy News Editor Philip B. Corbett, point man for the newspaper’s style manual, announced that The New York Times has at last decided to join the ranks of Marine Corps Times and countless other publications that adhere to The Associated Press’ longstanding guidance on this matter:

A Marine is a Marine — capital “M,” case closed.

“We heard repeatedly from readers and sources who found our usage puzzling or ill-informed — even … disrespectful,” Corbett wrote. “We’ve assured current and former members of the Marine Corps that the old rule reflected not a lack of respect but rather a desire for consistency.”

Indeed, just as Marines pride themselves on being squared away, The New York Times is a stickler when it comes to syntax. Within its pages, even scoundrels are afforded the courtesy of being referred to as “Mr.” Hitler, McVeigh or bin Laden. So there’s no doubt this decision was made with a lot of hand-wringing.


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/02/marine_nytimes_022509w/%2e

[ogneopasno]

1. Well, no -- courtesy titles don't apply to the dead in NYT usage, so it's not "Mr. Hitler." You also

lose your right to a courtesy title if you've been convicted of a crime (IIRC, that's NYT style -- I know it is elsewhere), so it's not "Mr. McVeigh." Aaaand figures of general renown also lose their courtesy titles, so it's not "Mr. bin Laden." Other than all that, I'm happy to hear of the NYT's change.

[zbdent]

2. so "honor" and "integrity" Marine lied?

go figure ...

[ogneopasno]

3. That...is not what I was saying.

[Captain Hilts]

4. Some near and dear to me are Marines, but if you capitalize 'marine' then you've got to capitalize

'soldier' and 'sailor' and 'airman'.