In an AP article today: "...carving a person-sized tunnel through solid rock at a velocity of 20 meters a day ..."
---- Original message ---- >Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:38:19 -0700 (PDT) >From: "John M. Steele" <[email protected]> >Subject: [USMA:48419] Chilean Miner Story >To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > > You may wish to contrast use of measurements in the > AFP and AP version of the current stories on the > Chilean miners > > http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100824/wl_afp/chileaccidentmining_20100824081814;_ylt=AhN97qhVWEme2dYiKTRMY1Os0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFoaG1oajl2BHBvcwMyNQRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNtb250aHMtbG9uZ3I- > http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100824/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_chile_mine_collapse > > A Chilean mining official interviewed on NBC, in > English, definitely gave the depth where the miners > are trapped as 700 m, without conversions. That > figure is repeated in the AFP version. > > I am glad to see ANY metric in the AP version, but > some of the conversions seem a bit ragged, probably > converted from metric to Customary, then back to > metric to include in story. > > AP: Here is a tip. You are reporting from a metric > country. The metric values your sources give you > are the best available data. Lead with it, and > convert, once, in parentheses, to Customary if you > feel it is needed. Don't make us go to AFP for > accurate data.
