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.
Auburn football player uses NIL funds to open a community hub in Birmingham
Jourdin Crawford, a freshman defensive lineman at Auburn, used earnings from a Name, Image, and Likeness deal to give back to his hometown.
Fear of Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz could further slow the flow of oil
Attacks by Iran have already nearly halted the flow of oil through the vital waterway as commercial ship crews fear being hit by missiles, drones or mines.
Bruno Mars adds yet another milestone to his career with ‘The Romantic’
Bruno Mars is the most-listened to artist in the world on Spotify. He's won 16 Grammys. In case you thought there were no battles left for him to win, this week he unlocked another achievement.
There’s more than one path to a confessional song
On new albums by viral sensation Yebba and studio whiz Pimmie, it's clear modern R&B has been clearing space for vastly different stripes of singer-songwriter.
Suspect in attack at Michigan synagogue is dead, officials say
Security officers at Temple Israel had "engaged the threat" that apparently started with a vehicle ramming into the building, according to Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
This tale of a Chicago school book ban was inspired by true events
Librarian Jarrett Dapier's graphic novel tells a fictionalized account of real-life events in 2013 that restricted access to Marjane Satrapi's memoir Persepolis in Chicago Public Schools.
