Every now and again we get a radio listener writes in to us at radioinfo, labouring under the misapprehension that we are a radio station.

Here’s one from this morning…

Dear Editor,

As a regular listener to Macquarie National News, I wish to point out a mistake made constantly by your news readers / writers and again today on your 10am edition.
 

When referring to a person who has been immersed in cold water or exposed to cold inclement weather for an extended time, that person most probable will suffer from a lowered body core temperature. The Medical Term for this is Hypothermia with an O, not ER.. This is a pet peeve of mine and probable petty, but is a mistake made by most reporters. Maybe your organization could be one of the first to get it correct.

Rant over.

(Name supplied)

I replied, gently, pointing out his mistake, suggesting he contact the source at 2GB or Macquarie National News.

However, his email did arouse my curiosity enough to ask, “Given that you were listening to a bulletin on the radio, how were you able to discern, with certainty, the difference between O and ER?”

His reply:

The bulletin I refereed to in my rant was relating to a person who had capsized their boat and spent some considerable time in the water before rescue. The news reader pronounced the medical condition very clearly with precise diction as Hyper, which is the total opposite of Hypothermia. I hear this constantly not only on radio but TV as well, a very common mistake.

Cheers,

(Name supplied)

So much for the adage that radio is a great medium for presenters who can’t spell. I wonder if our writer can tell the difference between ‘their, they’re and there’ when heard on air. Or ‘your, you’re and yore’ which are pet peeves of mine when wrongly used in print.

Although it would be churlish of me to criticise our writer’s several typos – a common trait in todays “social” world, (one to which I am often given), I must take issue with his use of an American Zee in the word “organization” instead of an english Ess in Australia.

Peter Saxon