Hyphens

[zipperbear]

My local weekly newspaper, the Milpitas Post, can still wow me sometimes, even if a "former reputable newspaper" now owns it.  The "pay-for-play" was clear, but the equally alliterative "jail-in-jury case" in the next paragraph had me flummoxed.  I'm not sure it's ever OK to break a line mid-word in a multi-word hyphenated phrase.

 

Of course, the hyphenation isn't a problem in the web version (where my copy/paste is faster than the paywall pop-up):

https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/10/santa-clara-county-sheriff-laurie-smith-tells-staff-she-wont-seek-re-election/

 

Smith now faces seven formal corruption accusations from the county’s civil grand jury, which began a probe last fall at the urging of the supervisors. The jury’s accusations focused on the gun-permit scandal, as well as a high-profile jail-injury case and an aborted investigation that followed. If the accusations go to trial and a jury finds her guilty of just one of any count, the verdict would compel her removal from office.

 

The printed version, however, has too many hyphenations at the ends of lines, because the columns of text are too narrow:

 [...] indicted two of 

her commanders on charges 

that they brokered a pay- 

for-play scheme trading sel- 

dom-issued concealed-carry 

weapons permits for polit- 

ical donations. 

[...]

 

   Smith now faces seven 

formal corruption accusa- 

tions from the county’s civil 

grand jury, which began a 

probe last fall at the urging 

of the supervisors. The ju- 

ry’s accusations focused on 

the gun-permit scandal, as 

well as a high-profile jail-in- 

jury case and an aborted in- 

vestigation that followed.