The parachutists prepare to jump

Get ready for the parachutists.

With U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's re-election campaign heating up already, the national media are taking another look at lil ol' North Carolina.

And that means another round of annoying mistakes and misconceptions from reporters who've parachuted into the state.

The latest example is a tried-and-true of the genre: Confusing the Raleigh News & Observer with the Charlotte Observer. (Insert McClatchy merger joke here.)

Glenn Thrush of Politico referred to an article about Burr in "the Charlotte News & Observer" in his blog recently. Then, likely because of Thrush, The Hill's Briefing Room blog made the exact same mistake.

We at Dome pointed out the error to both blogs, but neither has fixed it.

Meantime, we got to thinking about what the national reporters need to know before reporting on North Carolina: Raleigh-Durham is not a city, Strom Thurmond was from South Carolina, Tar Heels is two words, etc.

Post your suggestions in the comment thread or e-mail dome@newsobserver.com and we'll post the best.

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Re: The parachutists prepare to jump

Submitted by cmitchz on April 21, 2009 - 3:27pm.

Doesn't exactly fit with this, but I often see "Charlotte, SC" in the national media.

And I've been correcting people on "Charlotte News & Observer" for years and no one ever makes the correction. If you can make it happen, you're due an award.

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Re: The parachutists prepare to jump

Submitted by dahedgehog on April 21, 2009 - 2:43pm.

We at Dome pointed out the error to both blogs, but neither has fixed it.

Those in glass houses...I keep pointing out that earmarks don't increase the budget, but you don't fix your posts.

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Re: The parachutists prepare to jump

Submitted by domewatcher on April 21, 2009 - 11:00am.

Top ten things those big shot reporters need to know before coming to North Carolina:

10. Basnight is not a night out on the town when we beat up the conservatives. That’s only on week nights and weekends.
9. If you know the difference between a leased car and a campaign car, we’d be obliged if you could give us the head’s up.
8. You will never understand North Carolina politics if you can say or spell Coach K’s name. We all love him but that does not mean we take the time to learn to say his name.
7. Ms. Perdue currently resides in the Governor’s Mansion but Jim Hunt is still “Thee Governor.”
6. The local Republicans are smarter than the national Republicans but don’t poll as well.
5. There is a big difference between the Charlotte paper and the Raleigh paper even though both are owned by the same creditors. The main difference is that most of the reporters in Raleigh are on work-release from the local prison whereas Charlotte is a prison.
4. If you go to a bar and a redneck says, “Squeal like a pig,” you’re either at a hog farm or east of I-95, or probably both.
3. If you want to get some help from a local reporter, you’ll find him in the unemployment line.
2. If you can follow the conversation on NC Spin, you’re the first and only one, ever!

1. If you are wondering who is in charge of North Carolina’s public schools, so are we.

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