I almost upchucked my oatmeal breakfast when I read the recent (June 11) Signal deckhead, “Local Salvation Army chapter hosts inaugural Donut Day event.” Most of the rest of the article, including the main headline, spells the fried cake as “doughnut”—consistent with Associated Press style. Exceptions are the jump head (“Donuts”) and specific references to the Salvation Army event.
I love The Signal. It’s been an important part of my life since my wife and I moved to Santa Clarita decades ago. But inconsistencies in spelling upset my stomach. When I see headlines that are not properly spelled, I wonder if The Signal’s copy editors are on vacation. (And, yes, I know that AP allows the spelling deviation if entities that drop the “ugh” are cited.)
In any case, I’d like to see more stories on local purveyors of treats such as pastries, cakes and pies. It’s news I can’t get anywhere else. That — and the weird letters you publish — make this newspaper special to me.
Bill Spaniel
Santa Clarita
Editor’s note: Our approach on “Donut” vs. “doughnut” is to use the AP style, “doughnut,” unless the spelling, “donut,” is part of a proper noun. We left the capitalized “Donut Day” when used as a proper noun referring to National Donut Day.