3 examples of improper colon use

In each of the following examples, a colon is mistakenly used. Discussion after each sentence explains why a colon is inappropriate, and a revision demonstrates proper punctuation of the sentence.

1. The network is terminating all its business ties to his media company, which includes: ending its distribution of his new program, renaming the original show and separating itself from his merchandise website.

A colon should precede a list only when what precedes the colon is a complete sentence.

The network is terminating all its business ties to his media company, which includes ending its distribution of his new program, renaming the original show and separating itself from his merchandise website.

2. The piece was widely criticized for, among other things: failing to provide crucial context, an apparent unfamiliarity with terminology, failing to verify several claims and failing to note that the paper had previously published a similar profile of the organization’s co-founder.