Where's The Editor? Who's In Charge? Is This The Onion?

Barely a week ago, I posted a complaint about the rapidly declining quality of my local fishwrap, the Columbus Dispatch.  Not to be a crank, but alas, here I go again.

Sunday's Dispatch ran an article discussing recent presidential endorsements by some well-known newspapers, including the "New York Times," the 'New York Times,' and the "Boston Globe."  The same article also referred to the "Columbus Dispatch" as well as the 'Columbus Dispatch.'

Time out!  Who's gone nuts with the quotation marks?  Drunk 4th graders?

There are some basic rules for visual communication via the written word.  Per the APA style guide:

• Use italics when citing the name of a newspaper.  It's the New York Times, not the "New York Times" and definitely not the 'New York Times.'

• Quotation marks are used to cite the exact words spoken or written by others, or to indicate slang, jargon, fakery (when I saw "New York Times," I thought maybe I was reading a satire/comedy piece), or to imply something without saying it directly (Luca Brasi "sleeps with the fishes" means Luca's dead.)

• Quotation marks are not a highlighting technique.  Use bold, italic or underline to highlight words or phrases.

• Double quotation marks and single quotation marks are not interchangeable.

I never studied journalism, but I'm pretty sure I learned these rules by junior high at the latest.

The Columbus Dispatch?  Facepalm.

It seems the editor of the Dispatch is just an "editor."  That same day, he demonstrated his prowess by printing another article with headline "Dick Cheney To Again Seek Congressional Seat."  No, he's not.  It's his daughter Liz Cheney, although the two are virtually indistinguishable.