Why I Support WBHM: “I Don’t Have to Think About the Oxford Comma!”
Nick Patterson is the editor of the weekly newspaper WELD, and joins WBHM each Thursday during All Things Considered to discuss the week’s news. He’s not just one of the voices you hear on WBHM. He’s also a member and a fan.
“I love the education stories and the in depth news stories,” says Patterson. “I love the fact that WBHM, as an NPR affiliate, really connects you to some of the best journalism you’re going to hear in any broadcast medium.”
When he’s not writing for and reading WELD, he’s listening to the radio.
“I listen to WBHM in my car, sometimes at home, because, really, when you need the news right now, this is the place to get it,” Patterson says.
But there’s also one other reason this print journalist likes WBHM. He doesn’t have to worry about punctuation. Especially the Oxford comma.
“That always comes up as an issue I have to deal with,” says Patterson of the tricky comma.
For the uninitiated, Patterson explains: “The Oxford comma is the comma that you put before the ‘and’ in a series in a sentence. Sometimes you have three things that you mention. At the one just before the ‘and’ you have to make a decision. Do you put a comma before it…or not?”
“When I worked at the Birmingham Post-Herald, we used the Oxford comma quite frequently. Now that I’m working at WELD, we basically decided we wouldn’t,” says Patterson. “It feels weird because I have to take the Oxford comma out, not only of my own writing, but of other peoples’ writing as well. It feels sort of like I’m betraying the Oxford comma.”
One thing he says he’d never betray? The public radio station he loves.
“WBHM: Whether you like the Oxford comma or not, it’s great public radio in Birmingham,” Patterson says.
Florida Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Oilers in 6 games
The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions, becoming the NHL's first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and '21 and the third team to do it this century.
Anne Burrell, TV chef who coached the ‘Worst Cooks in America,’ dies at 55
TV chef Anne Burrell, who coached culinary fumblers through hundreds of episodes of "Worst Cooks in America," has died. Medical examiners are set to determine what caused her death.
Goliath the Galápagos tortoise celebrated his first Father’s Day and 135th birthday
Goliath had been paired with several female tortoises before, in hopes of producing a hatchling, but the process wasn't successful until earlier this month.
NAACP won’t invite Trump to its national convention, breaking a 116-year tradition
President Trump is the first U.S. president in 116 years that the NAACP hasn't invited to the annual convention. The group says Trump is attacking democracy and civil rights.
As Israel turns its focus to Iran, the death toll mounts in Gaza — and hunger deepens
Palestinians say Israeli forces killed scores of people trying to reach food aid in Khan Younis on Tuesday in the deadliest attack of recent weeks on hungry crowds attempting to get food in Gaza.
4 things to know as the war between Israel and Iran intensifies
Panic and confusion gripped Iran's capital, Tehran, as Israel warned civilians to evacuate or face more potential strikes as conflict between the two countries spilled into its fifth day.