By Adrian Garson
Yes, my name was misspelled in last week’s edition.
I realize being in the media in whatever form or fashion opens you up to all sorts of double-edged swords. But last week was a hoot! I am not sure I’ve ever received so many emails about my name being misspelled in the paper.
I am so used to people assuming that I am a man, based on the spelling of my name and clearly not having met me in person, that the misspelling of my name never registered with me as a huge deal.
The comments varied from “hey, your name was misspelled in the paper, did you misspell your own name?” to “your name was misspelled and I believe your staff was trying to raise a red flag of more serious problems to come.”
My favorite was, “Did you change the spelling of your name recently? I know 2020 has been tough but if you’re going to change your name you should just go ahead and go all the way and not simply change the spelling of your original name.”
Let me be clear. Mistakes happen. I honestly was not upset in the least that my name was misspelled. Believe it or not, my mother was not even upset my name was misspelled and she named me! The newspaper is not about me. Our newsroom busts their tails week after week to provide original, local news stories and if my name being misspelled is the aftermath of a long week of covering stories that actually matter, then so be it.
But, because there was such an outcry from the public about the mistake, please know that I did not misspell my own name. However, I am a mom and my mom brain has been guilty of far greater mishaps than that. The misspelling was also not part of a greater conspiracy. It was a simple mistake. The simple transposing of two letters. The world is still spinning. Nothing terrible has happened because of said mistake. And, if we could all just show each other a little grace when we make a mistake, I think the world would be a softer place for us all.
ADRIAN GARSON (look I spelled it right!)
Adrian Garson serves as publisher of Charlotte Media Group.