> I'm well-aware that ignorant people think
> the word it "hock" rather than "hawk"
Hock and hawk have distinct meanings, and distinct etymologies. The only confusion is in your own mind, in your hurry to attack Reuters, who, for once, do not deserve such ire.
OK, I won't press it any further, because it's a trivial point and I'm probably wrong on the etymology. My argument was with using slang in a journalistic article, but I agree that journalism standards don't exist anymore anyhow.