911: Those F@#*ingt Fatals

We had four people fatal at least once on this exercise.

In one instance, we wrote, The brave actions of a 6-year-old girl led to the arrest and conviction of her mother's alleged rapist.

Problem is, a conviction comes only after a trial. We had no information that there had been a trial; only that the individual had just been arrested and charged with the crime.

In a second instance, we alternately spelled the suspect's last name as Caspinwall (which is the correct spelling) and Caspinwell. And in a third instance, we alternately spelled the suspect's last name as Caspinwill and Capinwall, both of which are incorrect.

We know the deal here; we need to double-check names and facts and numbers after we finish writing to make sure what we wrote was what we intended to write; and we need to make sure we used names and terms and numbers consistently, and fix any inconsistencies.

In a fourth instance, we wrote bail was $25,000. In fact, it was $250,000. Same advice as the spelling fatal. And in the same story, we reported the alleged rape as having happened on Madison Avenue. In fact, it was Wilson Avenue. Again, same advice as the spelling fatal.

For the semester, we now have 15 out of 18 people with at least one fact fatal. Only three of you to go.