In your example, Rockefeller Center should remain spelled as is, If “Center” had been “center” then there would be implied license to use a preferred spelling.

On a related note, I would follow the current accepted practice on pronunciation of proper names (and even local non-proper names). We do not Anglicize the pronunciation of the various heads of state, do we?

Places

Use English forms when they are in common use: Cologne, Leghorn, Lower Saxony, Lyons, Marseilles, Naples, Nuremberg, Turin. And English rather than American—Rockefeller Centre, Bar Harbour, Pearl Harbour—unless the place name is part of a company name, such as Rockefeller Center Properties Inc.

One of the main reasons I refused to participate in them after having endured a few. They seemed to not be intended to resolve problems but to enjoy the frustration the problems created.

Yes, the e-book concept may eventually win out with all things being “subscription”. The reason that advertising is prevalent is that it made subscription cheap enough by supplementing publication costs. I suspect that advertising will find its way into electronic publication… just as it has in the internet.

The brainstorming had no result, but it’s interesting that it happened. One theory is that reading will go to iPad-like devices in future, stripped of ad clutter.

What was the result of the brainstorming? Or should I ask?

Incidentally, I’ve been in brainstorms (and you understand that this is purely hypothetical, a thought experiment) where we thought about whether to stop carrying ads altogether (Kindle-style) and to charge readers more instead. Purist, as it were.

As Twain famously implied when excusing himself to a friend (“I’m sorry I didn’t have time to write you a shorter letter…”), part of what we get paid for is to know so much that we can say it in fewer words than others.

But I’m on your side. Proper names, especially when improper, should remain unchanged.

We read-hear the clash of writers in arms and enjoy the spectacle.

Short argument, rich and to the point. She had to give…

Since I’m assuming you’re not paid per word, the Economist should be grateful that you’d want to write more words than the required minimum, for free.

I wish you had as obsessively defended the “odd” American spelling “Center” against the British “Centre”, when “Center” appears in a proper name.

Your editor:

“a word either has to look odd to us [Brits] or odd to them [Yanks], and we opt for them.”

http://andreaskluth.org/2009/08/26/either-odd-to-us-or-to-them-and-we-opt-for-them/#com-head

For the Hannibal Blog Style Guide:

The very oddness of proper names helps us distinguish, legally and cognitively, one person, place, or business from another. Hence all proper names (e.g., PetcareRX, Dachsie’s to Dane’s, 4 Paws Dog Grooming, Hairy D’Tails, Kathy’s K-9 Kottage, and Kute Klip Dog Spa) shall not be altered one jot or tittle.

Correct:

The name infringement lawsuit begun by The Center against The Centre reached a stunning climax yesterday.

But not:

The name infringement lawsuit begun by The Center against The Center reached a stunning climax yesterday.