Hello All, I e-mailed Dan Fisher, the ombudsman at MSNBC, about their use of FFU in international and science reports. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a positive reply. Here it is, with my original message below it: ****************************************************************** Thanks for your email. You raise some good points. I will pass your comments on to the appropriate editors. -----Original Message----- From: James Wentworth [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2001 2:27 AM Subject: A problem of unit usage in MSNBC reports Dear Mr. Fisher, I am writing to you regarding an MSNBC practice that degrades the clarity of the reports (especially international reports and science reports) and contradicts the principles set forth in "The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual." In MSNBC's international and science reports, the original metric units supplied in the source material are almost invariably converted (often incorrectly) to the colloquial US units. The Associated Press Stylebook's instructions for handling metric units are as follows: ******************************************************************** --METRIC SYSTEM-- In general, metric terms should be included in a story when they are relevant. There are no hard-and-fast rules on when they are relevant, but the following two guidelines have been developed to cover questions likely to arise as metric measurements gain increased acceptance in the United States: -- Use metric terms when they are the *primary form* [emphasis mine -- JJW] in which the source of a story has provided statistics. Follow the metric units with equivalents in the terms more widely known in the United States. Normally, the equivalent should be in parentheses after the metric figure. A general statement such as: "A kilometer equals about five-eighths of a mile," would be acceptable, however, to avoid repeated use of parenthetical equivalents in a story that uses kilometers many times. -- Provide metric equivalents for traditional forms if a metric unit has become widely known. As speedometers with kilometer markings become more prevalent, for example, a story about speed limits might list miles per hour and *provide kilometers per hour in parentheses* [emphasis mine -- JJW]. ******************************************************************** I am an American layman, and I understand the metric system as well as the hodge-podge of colloquial US units. I drink 1 liter and 2 liter soft drinks, have run in 2 K and 5 K (2 kilometer and 5 kilometer) races, and use 35 mm film and 2 kilogram packages of detergent tablets. (One liter of water weighs one kilogram, so I know how heavy a kilogram feels.) When I read MSNBC international reports and science reports that contain colloquial units instead of the original metric units, I feel like I'm being "talked-down to," as if we Americans are too ignorant to understand metric units. I think the problem is, sadly, that many American reporters are functionally innumerate and so assume that their readers are also innumerate. Could you persuade the MSNBC writers to leave the metric units in the international reports and science reports? (I'd love to see metric units used in *all* MSNBC reports, but I'm happy with progress made one step at a time.) I would be most grateful to you for your help. Sincerely Yours, J. Jason Wentworth
