Dear Geist,

Where did I go wrong? I spent an hour making a video presentation with gorgeous visuals and sound and the works, but head office sent it back with the title underscored, meaning there is an error in the copy, which reads: “Welcome to our newly-launched program!” What in the world is wrong with it?!?!? Even my shelf of dictionaries just looks the other way.

—Liliana J, Cyberspace

Dear Liliana,

Your tiny error was the smallest bit: the dash in newly-launched. You must simply erase the dash, leaving the space between the two words intact, and you’ll be free.

The dash has to go because it is not needed for the passage to be understood easily. As grammatical errors go, this one is pretty small beer, but the astute editor will banish all bits of clutter on any surface whose purpose is to catch the interest of an audience. The headline is the most important bit of “real estate” on the screen, and it needs to be as clear and compelling as possible to viewers in that first crucial nano-second of contact.

—The Editors