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Forums => English & Linguistics => Topic started by: Jonathon on June 19, 2006, 01:10:29 PM

Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 19, 2006, 01:10:29 PM
There are a lot of things I dislike about journalistic writing, but one of my biggest pet peeves is misleading headlines. Here's a prime example from CNET News: University opens school for hackers (http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-6085375.html?part=rss&tag=6085375&subj=news). A whole new school dedicated to training computer criminals? How shocking and controversial!

Oh, wait. That's not at all what's happening. An existing program is offering a new course, not creating a new school, and the goal is to teach IT professionals how to thwart hacking. The description in the course catalog reads: "In the same way that police detectives need to know how thieves can steal, computer systems administrators need to know what hackers can do."

Ugh. This is why I could never work for a newspaper, I think.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Mr. Anderson on June 19, 2006, 02:02:25 PM
Yeah.  I always hate those news previews that sound really interesting.  Then you sit and watch the news, they end up showing that story last, and it's a stupid 30 second bit.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 16, 2006, 02:04:30 PM
Apparently I'm not the only one who hates confusing headlines. (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003353.html) I've never taken the time to draw sentence trees of ambiguous headline syntax, though.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on July 16, 2006, 05:15:52 PM
Oh yeah, that's my kind of diagramming.  The favorite illustration was "I saw Richard Nixon flying over the Grand Canyon."
 
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on July 16, 2006, 08:24:34 PM
I can't let this thread pass without mention the oft-quoted (out here) but so far unconfirmed headline that was once in the Daily Universe (BYU's newspaper):

Quote
Students Help Rape Victims
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 16, 2006, 08:50:14 PM
We talked about that one in my introductory editing class. Now I'm wondering if there's a way to track down the original.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on July 17, 2006, 07:36:03 AM
I laughed, but I felt guilty about it.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 18, 2006, 11:37:34 AM
I was browsing KSL.com to try to find out where all the smoke is coming from (answer: a wildfire a couple counties south of here) and came across this appalling article (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=357254). It's chock full of stylistic errors and generally inept writing. It wanders, throws in some random quotes, wanders some more, and then ends abruptly. Has this reporter ever heard of the AP Style Guide?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on July 18, 2006, 12:05:44 PM
And why oh WHY does it insist on capitalizing Ozone?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 18, 2006, 12:46:28 PM
That would be one of the horrible stylistic errors—along with "Oxides of Nitrogen," "Volatile Organic Compounds," and "Sunlight." Sunlight!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Mr. Anderson on July 18, 2006, 02:49:18 PM
I wrote that report in 4th grade.  How'd KSL get ahold of it?  Dina Freedman stole my work!

Quote
And of course, when you're filling up that tank tonight, you'll have your car full of people because we should be car pooling right now to cut down on vehicle emissions.

Are they suggesting car pooling to the gas station?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 18, 2006, 03:01:43 PM
Nope—they're demanding it. Note the use of an imperative: you will . . . or else!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Mr. Anderson on July 18, 2006, 03:06:16 PM
Can I come pick you up this evening to go fill my tank?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 18, 2006, 03:27:17 PM
Absolutely.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Teshi on July 18, 2006, 04:36:21 PM
Quote
Apparently I'm not the only one who hates confusing headlines. I've never taken the time to draw sentence trees of ambiguous headline syntax, though.

I had no problem reading that headline.

Although I too dislike misleading headlines. I want to know what the story is about not what you wish it was about!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on July 18, 2006, 06:10:00 PM
Quote
That would be one of the horrible stylistic errors—along with "Oxides of Nitrogen," "Volatile Organic Compounds," and "Sunlight." Sunlight!
I wasn't able to force myself to read that far. ;)

Although the VOC thing could, I suppose, come from the fact that it is very often referred to by the TLA.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on July 19, 2006, 07:33:06 AM
VOCs are EPA jargon.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on July 19, 2006, 07:34:36 AM
Also true. But any organic chemist (and a large number of chemists who don't specialize in organics) would also refer to them that way.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 14, 2006, 03:04:59 PM
When will be good editing? (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/14/AR2006081400721.html)

Edit: Or, better yet, "When will be edited well newspapers?"
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 14, 2006, 03:09:02 PM
While there's wrong with the grammar, there is something very wrong with this:

Seven die in toilet accident (http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1982414,00.html)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 14, 2006, 03:10:53 PM
What a way to go, huh?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on August 14, 2006, 03:41:57 PM
:sick:  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on September 18, 2006, 07:49:32 AM
A pair of adjacent headlines on MSN today reported:

"Mexican Meth floods U.S. markets
Space station crew reports foul odor."
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 18, 2006, 08:35:14 AM
>.<  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on September 18, 2006, 08:41:05 AM
As a former journalist (and former journalism major) I must at least partially defend:  At most newspapers, the headlines are NOT written by the journalist. They get no say whatsoever on the head used.  At least in large daily papers, they write the article, it goes through about two or three copy editors, and one of those copy editors jobs is to find a head that "fits" within the column/space it has been decided to place the article.

Often reporters go "ugh" at their own stories after seeing what headline was added.

FG
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 18, 2006, 08:48:03 AM
I've never understood the rationale behind having the copy editor write the headline instead of the writer. Any idea why that's the way it is, Farmgirl?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on September 18, 2006, 08:56:40 AM
Mainly because the writer has absolutely no idea where, or sometimes even when, the piece is going to run (front page, inside page, side box, etc.)  They have no idea if it is going to go one column, two columns, three columns, etc.  All those things affect what kind of head and font size used.  And for some reason, newspapers decide those can be done by the layout people/copy editors at the end of production - who rarely really read a story with the intent of paying attention to what it actually SAYS.

(assembly-line mentality)

FG
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 18, 2006, 09:06:53 AM
I guess that makes sense from a production point of view, even if it does lead to some screwy headlines.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 18, 2006, 02:57:39 PM
Wow. Talk about an ungrammatical headline (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Darfar_Protests.html).
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 02, 2006, 09:38:43 AM
Ugh. This article (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/30/moon.quote.ap/index.html) talks about Neil Armstrong's allegedly flubbed "one small step for man" line and how software may have discovered the missing "a." Whether or not this is the case, the article gets it pretty wrong: it's not an issue of drama or grammatical correctness—"one small step for man" is perfectly grammatically correct. However, it doesn't mean the same thing as "one small step for a man." Stupid AP story.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 02, 2006, 09:40:42 AM
If he's talking about one small step for an individual, then the quote is incorrect.  It's only correct if he's talking about mankind.  Which makes the whole quote meaningless.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 02, 2006, 09:47:14 AM
But it's not grammatically incorrect.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 02, 2006, 09:53:35 AM
Meh.  I think you'r nitpicking.  He tried to say one thing, and either he said wrong or it was heard wrong.    This incorrect sentence, by sheer accident, coincides with a gramatically correct sentence which means something else.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 02, 2006, 10:38:10 AM
Just because I'm nitpicking doesn't mean I'm wrong. :P  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 02, 2006, 10:39:14 AM
In this case, the difference between you being right and being wrong is, IMO, unimportant.

Which is why I'm arguing it. ;)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 02, 2006, 10:48:46 AM
Most newspaper articles get things wrong when talking about language and linguistics (among many other subjects). I don't think that's unimportant.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 02, 2006, 10:59:43 AM
I'm not convinced that it's not a grammatical mistake.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on October 02, 2006, 12:56:34 PM
man = mankind
It's well established in Biblical English.

I liked the final sentence, that the right word is "persuasive".  That's all a linguistic analysis can ever strive to be.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 02, 2006, 08:17:53 PM
If I'm talking about my little girl and spell it "grill", it's still a spelling error even though "grill" is a perfectly cromulent word.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on October 02, 2006, 08:59:27 PM
:looks up "cromulent":
 :lol:  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 03, 2006, 03:39:45 PM
Quote
I'm not convinced that it's not a grammatical mistake.
The thing is that the line was something he came up with once they'd landed. In other words, he was reciting a line, not generating spontaneous speech. If an actor forgets a word, it's an error in memory, not in grammar. Also, Armstrong has apparently admitted that he sometimes drops syllables in speech, which means it's an error in speech production, not in grammar. Either way, it's not a grammatical error.

What bugged me about the article, though, was the way they portrayed the error. They said that "one small step for a man" is "more dramatic and grammatically correct." I don't see how drama factors in at all, and if the "one small step for man" version is incorrect, then it's not an issue of one version being more correct. Correctness in this instance would be a binary thing, but they seem to be portraying one as proper an the other as improper. I don't think that accurately describes the situation.

Edit: On a related note, Language Log has done a couple of interesting (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003630.html) posts (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003632.html) on the subject. Far more interesting than the virtually content-free CNN article I linked to, anyway.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 03, 2006, 03:48:15 PM
Quote
If an actor forgets a word, it's an error in memory, not in grammar.

"To be or not to be, that the question." is a grammatically incorrect sentence, no matter how the verb got dropped.

Quote
Also, Armstrong has apparently admitted that he sometimes drops syllables in speech, which means it's an error in speech production, not in grammar.
That's a good point.

Although, I was talking about the quote as is commonly known.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 03, 2006, 04:01:16 PM
Quote
Although, I was talking about the quote as is commonly known.
So was I.

In other words, I don't know what you mean by that.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on October 03, 2006, 04:05:10 PM
To be or not to be, that is a question.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on October 03, 2006, 06:02:54 PM
Indeed.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: AFR on October 03, 2006, 10:42:53 PM
You got to admit, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" is a better parallelism.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 04, 2006, 05:52:01 AM
Um, I don't know what you mean.  The sentence, as you quoted it, is just plain confusing.  What does it mean?  There's more than one way to parse it.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: AFR on October 04, 2006, 08:57:44 AM
The actual structures are parallel. Add an "a" and they aren't as parallel. One reason it's so memorable is that it's so parallel.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 04, 2006, 09:05:18 AM
But by making the structures parallel, you create ambiguity.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on October 04, 2006, 10:04:44 AM
Parallelism would have been "One small step for Neil, on giant leap for mankind."
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on January 10, 2007, 07:25:52 AM
In this morning's Times-Picayune: Colston's score ranked in the upper 10 percentile of wide receivers, according to his agent, Mark Clouser.

 <_<

I wrote the guy and gave him a gentle primer on the difference between 'percent' and 'percentile'.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on January 10, 2007, 07:54:00 AM
The same journalist in the same day's paper also wrote this sentence (in a different article):  He decided to live by the tenants of the US Army.

I wrote him another email.  He's gonna hate me.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 10, 2007, 08:59:58 AM
I say that if you're going to write for a living, you've got to be willing to withstand scrutiny of your writing.

Also, a good copy editor should've caught both of those problems.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 10, 2007, 09:10:37 AM
Maybe you should write the copy editor.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on January 10, 2007, 09:33:54 AM
Maybe all newspapers should include a section called "Letters to the Copyeditor" for stuff like this.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 10, 2007, 09:58:07 AM
It was long before Pat's day that I saw an column in the Des News that said "continued on page D?"
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on January 10, 2007, 02:47:00 PM
He wrote back, saying that he knew the proper usage both times but that the errors slipped through due to deadline pressures.  He was very nice about it, so I chalk it up to a bad day.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 14, 2007, 03:14:02 PM
I guess that happens to me.  I was going to say "to the best of us" but thought again.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 15, 2007, 12:24:04 PM
Quote
Maybe you should write the copy editor.
Totally. I blame them more than the writer in cases like that.

One of the many reasons I have stopped subscribing to the L.A. Times is the consistently poor copy-editing. :P
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 03, 2007, 10:49:26 AM
 Chinese nuke base open to tourists (http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/05/03/china.nuclearbase.reut/index.html)

What a headline. :)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 03, 2007, 11:05:50 AM
Great find!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 25, 2007, 09:36:22 PM
Here's a tortured headline (http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-05-25-voa71.cfm). And better yet, it contains a hidden surprise: the first time I read it, I left out one letter in the middle.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 25, 2007, 11:47:49 PM
(http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/main/graemlins/rofl.gif)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 30, 2007, 12:08:24 PM
News flash: If everyone on the Jazz just played better, they could win more. (http://www.nba.com/news/412604.html)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 30, 2007, 12:13:19 PM
And this one isn't a writing problem, but it's a journalism problem nonetheless. Check out this blog post (http://theslot.blogspot.com/2007/05/just-production-issue.html). Then look at the picture of the guy on his own site (http://andyroddick.com/). Apparently the "5 easy moves" to building bigger arms are Photoshop techniques.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on May 30, 2007, 02:01:13 PM
You call that easy?!  Clearly you're a much more accomplished photoshopper than I.  

But yeah, that Men's Fitness cover is ridiculous.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 30, 2007, 02:09:59 PM
It looks like they just pasted his head onto somebody else's body.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on June 08, 2007, 10:02:30 AM
Why in the world are there scare quotes in this headline?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6731659.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6731659.stm)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 08, 2007, 10:16:50 AM
I really don't know. The only thing I can think of is that they want you to know that they're quoting someone and not editorializing. But I don't think that's really an issue.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on June 08, 2007, 12:32:07 PM
People are unaware that food comes from farms?  Manna from heaven they think they're eating, maybe?

Why do I doubt the veracity of this survey?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 10, 2007, 12:40:45 PM
It depends on your definition of farm.  Unless this is magical meat being grown in a petri dish.  MMmmm.  Petri dish.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 12, 2007, 12:05:54 PM
Don't open this at work or while drinking. (http://news.aol.com/strange/story/_a/butts-charged-with-stealing-toilet-paper/n20070611145009990023)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on June 12, 2007, 02:07:38 PM
Now that one's actually funny.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: spacepook on June 18, 2007, 12:24:17 PM
Quote
Don't open this at work or while drinking. (http://news.aol.com/strange/story/_a/butts-charged-with-stealing-toilet-paper/n20070611145009990023)
:drinks water:
:opens link:
:laughs:
:chokes:
:swallows water:
:lols:
:Micropook freaks out because I'm laughing so hard I'm crying AND because I won't tell him what is funny:
:Breathes:
OK. I'm fine. I think.....:lol::lol::lol::etc:
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 21, 2007, 06:50:54 AM
I hope it's okay if I keep posting funny language oriented news items here:Government wont' approve baby name (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070621/ap_on_fe_st/odd_new_zealand_baby_name)

This couple in New Zealand wants to name their child 4real.  

Maybe I'll start calling spacepook ROTFLOL.  It almost rhymes with her real name.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 26, 2007, 07:14:30 AM
I saw a funny headline today:

"Albino Mountain Goat Spotted for First Time Ever"

The "first time ever" probably takes it from basic irony to delicious.  Unless it was deliberate.  Then it's cheap.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 26, 2007, 07:51:19 AM
I don't get it.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 26, 2007, 09:52:24 AM
Albino :: Spotted
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 26, 2007, 10:18:22 AM
Aha. It was just a little too subtle for me this morning.  :)  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on June 26, 2007, 10:56:45 AM
One of my friends sent me a link to an architect's website.  Pretty professionally done, nice page, good pictures, and a glaring grammatical error in one of the four main menu items.

Home
Portfolio
Designer Bio's
About Us

 >.<  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on June 26, 2007, 02:56:39 PM
Perhaps they meant it as a contraction.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on June 26, 2007, 05:15:37 PM
A contraction with what as the second word?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 27, 2007, 07:30:02 AM
I pointed out a spelling error on a website at a company where I was temping.  One guy was very impressed and said in an offhand way that the development department ought to hire me, but it was his last week, and nothing really came of that.  

Oh, they were talking about a chef's flare for cooking.  

Anyway, they didn't ever fix it.  

Websites are often made by marketing type people, and sometimes marketing type people think editing type people are boring old killjoys.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on June 27, 2007, 10:15:17 AM
Our marketing department "owns" the company intranet site (is responsible for all content) and they hate me because I always point out all their spelling/gramatical errors.  But hey - I figure I get here early -- if I catch it early and they change it, fewer people will know they made a mistake...

FG
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 27, 2007, 10:32:09 AM
I guess there are variants of grammatical rectitude, much as exist on the moral plane.  Some people imagine there are folks who never make mistakes, rather than realizing everyone makes mistakes and the point is how fast one corrects the problem.  So they take notice of an error as condemnation, I suppose.  It's just a thought.  There may even be something about the relationship between the perception of language and morality in my "Language and Authority" book.  If I ever think of looking at it when I'm there.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on June 27, 2007, 04:16:13 PM
Quote
Oh, they were talking about a chef's flare for cooking.
Gotta watch out for that faulty burner!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 28, 2007, 02:42:41 AM
I was thinking more of a safety flare, you know, to brown that Creme Brulee to perfection.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on June 28, 2007, 04:36:13 PM
 (http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9737094-7.html?tag=recentPosts)
Quote
First successful gene transplant a success
[/url]

*raises hand*

Was it the first one?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on June 28, 2007, 06:26:35 PM
I tore two things out of yesterday's Miami Herald, Broward FINAL Edition.

1) Front page Sports section, underneath a picture of... someone... there's this:

Quote
PHOTOG HERE/CREDIT HERE

BOLD INTRO:
Cutline goes here.m aoiga oeg ioae goa egioae goiage ia geiae goa egioa ieg aoigeaoie goiae goia ogei.

2) The chess problem is incorrect.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on July 18, 2007, 12:48:05 PM
Shark bites diver in the fjord (http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1893467.ece).

 o_O  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on July 18, 2007, 12:54:16 PM
A Møøse once bit my sister
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on July 18, 2007, 12:59:38 PM
Exactly.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 18, 2007, 01:08:51 PM
Quote
Shark bites diver in the fjord (http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1893467.ece).

 o_O
Can they even print that?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on July 24, 2007, 08:50:08 PM
Corn dogs climate scientists (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2007-07-23-crops_N.htm?csp=34)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on July 25, 2007, 05:53:55 AM
:D  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 26, 2007, 03:07:05 PM
*groan*
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 01, 2007, 08:01:06 AM
Oh, my head. Why do journalists have to be so stupid? Why do they have such a poor understanding of language mechanics, even though they often fancy themselves as language experts and language defenders? Why does nobody know what "active" and "passive" really mean anymore?

link (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004775.html)

Some new research has shown that reading about actions stimulates activity in the motor cortex. Some journalists have jumped all over this and taken it to mean that there is a neurological basis for the idea writing in the active voice is good while writing in the passive voice is bad.

action ? verb
action verb ? verb in the active voice
no activity in the motor cortex ? evidence of bad writing
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 01, 2007, 08:32:08 AM
>.<
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on August 06, 2007, 04:53:56 PM
Quote
. In 1988, Hurricane Gilbert, one of the most powerful hurricanes in history, set back Jamaica's economy by three years.
That was in the wiki article on the Bermuda Triangle.  Talk about suspending the laws of physics!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 07, 2007, 11:18:04 PM
Why I think that we should just let journalists run everything (http://www.ozarkcountytimes.com/publish/article_4650.shtml).
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 08, 2007, 08:31:02 AM
There are so many things wrong with that letter, it makes my head hurt.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 08, 2007, 08:34:10 AM
Oh, my head. >.<

I won't even mention the fact that this piece comes from the Ozark County Times. Or that the author invokes a huge freaking Godwin's Law straw man. Or that she's a complete and utter idiot.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 08, 2007, 08:34:23 AM
That was a letter?   I missed that.  I guess I shouldn't have been mocking journalists because of it. :oops:

Choice quote:
Quote
The "c" in Einstein's formula E=mc2 stands for the speed of light, which Einstein said is a constant (approximately 186,000 miles per second in a vacuum). That doesn't make sense.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 08, 2007, 08:35:39 AM
Quote
I won't even mention the fact that this piece comes from the Ozark County Times. Or that the author invokes a huge freaking Godwin's Law straw man. Or that she's a complete and utter idiot.
You won't? :cry:
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 08, 2007, 08:36:21 AM
I didn't notice that, either. I does indeed say "letters" at the front of the headline. That makes me feel (very) slightly better.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 08, 2007, 08:37:51 AM
This was also pretty good:
Quote
A few years ago, PBS reported that two Germany scientists had altered the speed of light in a laboratory. The scientific community dismissed their work as bad science: it didn't fit Einstein's equation.
I can alter the speed of light right here in my cubicle.

*holds a clear plastic bottle in front of a light source*

Behold! I have slowed and bent actual rays of light!  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 08, 2007, 08:38:54 AM
Quote
Quote
I won't even mention the fact that this piece comes from the Ozark County Times. Or that the author invokes a huge freaking Godwin's Law straw man. Or that she's a complete and utter idiot.
You won't? :cry:
No, I won't. It just wouldn't be prudent to make jokes about ignorant hillbillies who obviously have no idea how to check their facts or construct a well-reasoned argument.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 08, 2007, 08:51:09 AM
. . . or the difference between a medium and a vacuum.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 08, 2007, 09:00:28 AM
...or the difference between reviewing scientific experiments and seeing an article or PBS special about it.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on August 22, 2007, 08:55:57 AM
Here's a doozy of a headline:

Work-Family Conflict Dogs Air Force Women After Deployment (http://health.msn.com/womenshealth/ArticlePage.aspx?cp-documentid=100168119)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 22, 2007, 09:09:39 AM
:blink:  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 22, 2007, 09:13:58 AM
Wow. That took me two or three readings to parse.

Who else wondered what work-family conflict dogs were?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 22, 2007, 09:15:46 AM
Not me. My brain took one look at that headline and flatly refused to make any attempt whatsoever at decoding.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on August 22, 2007, 09:22:18 AM
:lol:

And when I hit "air force," I got completely lost because I'd thought this headline was about family, work, and/or dogs.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 22, 2007, 09:32:10 AM
For a second I thought that two headlines (or maybe more) had been spliced together by accident.

By the way, it seems that headline writers love the verb "dog." This is not the first time I've seen it in a cluttered headline. Presumably they like it because it saves space.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 22, 2007, 01:17:44 PM
This (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004843.html) was just posted on Language Log. Sadly, I don't know if even an audio version could've saved this headline.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 22, 2007, 01:42:18 PM
Quote
This (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004843.html) was just posted on Language Log. Sadly, I don't know if even an audio version could've saved this headline.
I agree. I only hear the difference in the two sound files' emphases when I listen very closely.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 22, 2007, 01:58:06 PM
The sound files sound very different to me.  It is easy to tell what the two mean.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 22, 2007, 02:11:29 PM
Same here.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 22, 2007, 04:26:59 PM
I love journalistic writing.  It is such a rich source of material.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on August 23, 2007, 08:46:38 AM
If a certain organization's newsletter is a group effort and two members of the group consistently edit the phrase "the parish nurses will be giving hand massages" and "come get a hand massage" to "will be massaging hands" and "come have your hands massaged" and the rest of the group sees nothing wrong with the originals and keeps putting the announcements in phrased that way, do the two have overactive imaginations, or are the rest of the group oblivious?  </runon sentence>
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 23, 2007, 08:53:57 AM
I'm oblivious to the functional differences between the two phrasings.  I'm guessing that there's a double entendre that I'm not seeing, but that's just because of the word "message".

Is the problem with the term "hand massage" referring to what you're giving the massage with, instead of to?  If so, what else would somebody be giving a massage with?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 23, 2007, 08:55:32 AM
I guess you can count me among the oblivious.  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on August 23, 2007, 09:11:25 AM
Interesting.

I tend to think that if even one person notices that something can be misinterpreted and there's an easy way to change it, it should be changed.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 23, 2007, 09:13:08 AM
I think that anything can be misinterpreted, if you really want to.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 23, 2007, 09:20:02 AM
Quote
Interesting.

I tend to think that if even one person notices that something can be misinterpreted and there's an easy way to change it, it should be changed.
I agree to an extent. As Porter notes, pretty much anything can be misinterpreted if you put your mind to it. Some things are obviously more problematic than others, though, and if it's no trouble to change it, then it should be changed.  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on August 23, 2007, 12:05:24 PM
It's amazing how one letter can totally change the visual message a reader receives...

Sale ad (http://newspaperads.kansas.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=243848&adid=4934339&cat=3542)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 23, 2007, 12:17:41 PM
*snort*
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on September 04, 2007, 08:12:21 AM
From the Times-Picayune today:

"In three quarters of work, Manning completed 20 of 25 passes (66.7 percent) for 314 yards and touchdowns of 17, 14, 79, 12, 32 and 11 yards."

------------

And in my hometown paper this weekend, there was a special section on education.

The section heading read (in giant black type)  "EDCUATION".

(http://www.entropicalisle.com/gallery/d/1784-1/Roll_Eyes_BIG.gif)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on September 04, 2007, 09:06:36 AM
Somebody failed math in high school.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on September 04, 2007, 10:12:42 AM
Well, who would have thought there would be a real world application for it?  I mean, if you are A) a journalist and B) assigned to athletics, one would imagine it would be somewhat safe -- except for when it isn't.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on September 04, 2007, 10:52:43 AM
I might agree with part A) of that statement, but there's no popular American sport that I'm aware of that doesn't heavily rely on math and numbers to track player progression/value.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on September 04, 2007, 11:02:51 AM
Yes, but the stats are usually compiled by someone else, not the journalists.  I'm guessing.  I'm just poking fun at the whole "when will I use this in real life" whine.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on September 04, 2007, 12:04:06 PM
They're compiled by someone else, but it's a rare person in sports who doesn't track field goal percentage, PPG, YPC, batting average, ERA, free throw percentage, winning percentage, turnover ration, A:T ratio, etc.

I got the joke, though. ;)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on September 06, 2007, 10:19:42 AM
Shamelessly stolen from Fark:

Headline:  Mind-controlled prosthetic arm plays the piano (http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/09/05/bionic.arm/index.html)

Text in the article: A person wearing a Proto 2 could conceivably play the piano.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 06, 2007, 10:29:30 AM
I feel like I'm missing something.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on September 06, 2007, 10:34:43 AM
It's the difference between "plays the piano" and "could conceivably play the piano".
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 06, 2007, 10:43:06 AM
Ah, of course. That old journalistic standby, the wildly exaggerative headline.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: theCrowsWife on September 08, 2007, 01:47:27 PM
Quote
This (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004843.html) was just posted on Language Log. Sadly, I don't know if even an audio version could've saved this headline.
I used to work in the Linguistics Department of the University of Arizona, so it was kind of weird to suddenly come across names that I know (Heidi Harley and Andrew Carnie).

--Mel
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on September 08, 2007, 02:04:31 PM
Quote
Quote
This (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004843.html) was just posted on Language Log. Sadly, I don't know if even an audio version could've saved this headline.
I used to work in the Linguistics Department of the University of Arizona, so it was kind of weird to suddenly come across names that I know (Heidi Harley and Andrew Carnie).

--Mel
What did you do there?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: theCrowsWife on September 08, 2007, 02:17:41 PM
I was the main programmer for the Arizona Native American Dictionary Project (http://www.lexicon.arizona.edu/mikeserv/). I mostly worked on the Tohono O'odham dictionary, but I also helped with the Hiaki dictionary and the XML scheme. Unfortunately, it looks like the project came to a standstill after I left. I worked on it for about two years, so I spent a lot of time in the Linguistics building. I also knew several of the professors from classes that I had taken.

ETA: Heidi Harley worked on the language part of the Hiaki dictionary, if I remember correctly.

--Mel
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on September 18, 2007, 11:11:33 AM
Okay, Jonathon -- does this make any sense whatsoever to you?
Quote
we do utilize the AP Stylebook for all print and electronic publications, though ‘email’ has become a preferred way of stating electronic mail. Webster’s has it both ways and in this instance, we chose to not use the hyphen.

So she's saying they DO use AP Style always (all print and electronic) however in THIS case, they are using what "Webster's has deemed acceptable" ??

Isn't that like saying "yeah, that's our rules, but we chose to ignore them this time, and it is perfectly okay by another set of rules"???

*bites tongue*
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 18, 2007, 11:21:16 AM
Most places have a favorite style guide (usually Chicago or AP) and then have a small house style guide that overrides certain elements of the chosen style guide. It's really not hypocritical or schizophrenic or anything.

Though the quality of the writing in that quote makes me question their ability to make any stylistic decisions.

And not to nitpick, but dictionaries are not in the business of deeming what's acceptable; they just reflect what people are using. If people frequently spell "e-mail" without a hyphen, they'll include it. It's up to whoever is choosing or writing the style guide to decide which they want to go with.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on September 18, 2007, 11:28:00 AM
Quote
Though the quality of the writing in that quote makes me question their ability to make any stylistic decisions.

Yes.  And that is from the HEAD of the public relations department.  I'm sure her officer salary reflects her great journalistic skill.  :wacko:  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on September 18, 2007, 11:39:02 AM
Pffft.  She just said they use . . . er, excuse me, utilize the style guide for all publications, not that they follow it in all instances.  So if someone pulled out the style guide at any point while working on the project it was used for that publication.   :P  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 18, 2007, 11:41:04 AM
Quote
So if someone pulled out the style guide at any point while working on the project it was used for that publication.   :P
Utilized.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on September 18, 2007, 11:47:18 AM
Oh, I miss binary sentence diagrams.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on September 18, 2007, 11:54:58 AM
Quote
Quote
So if someone pulled out the style guide at any point while working on the project it was used for that publication.   :P
Utilized.
Ooops.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Zalmoxis on September 19, 2007, 12:18:18 PM
Quote
And that is from the HEAD of the public relations department. I'm sure her officer salary reflects her great journalistic skill.

Man, I need to get me one of those jobs.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on September 27, 2007, 05:38:12 AM
Quote
Crowds Gather for Obscene Newspaper Editorial Hearing

Man, that sounds like a fun hearing to attend. (from Fox News this morning)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 02, 2007, 12:10:22 PM
Ass chewing starts fight (http://www.quickdfw.com/sharedcontent/dws/quick/news/odd/stories/DN-usa--donkey_02ick.ART.State.Edition1.4295ceb.html)

(It's about a donkey)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 02, 2007, 12:13:19 PM
Announcement to all headline writers: you're not nearly as clever as you think you.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on October 02, 2007, 12:13:34 PM
I don't actually hate this, I just couldn't figure where else to put it.  Is a peri-apocalyptic novel that practically writes itself, don't you think?

Quote
Since the early 1990s, wildlife refuge managers have maintained a "rat-spill" program -- in which emergency responders prevent the spread of rats from shipwrecks -- similar to oil-spill contingency plans maintained by state and federal agencies.
8:> (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071002/od_nm/alaska_rats_dc)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 02, 2007, 12:19:52 PM
I'm betting on the rats.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 17, 2007, 03:39:00 PM
In an article talking about methane from cows (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-methane15oct15,0,1365993.story), there are these quotes:

Quote
It's a silent but deadly source of greenhouse gases.... But livestock emissions are no joke.

Um, yeah.  Sure they they ain't.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 18, 2007, 02:17:13 PM
I really appreciated this Language Log post (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005038.html), which is in response to some articles today about Neanderthals possessing a so-called speech gene.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 25, 2007, 03:04:41 PM
Does this article (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL2546122220071025?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews) make sense to anyone else? The first sentence is throwing me for a loop. What's the point of removing the fingers? What was the media report that shocked the family? I'll never cease to be amazed at the ability of some journalists to condense a lot of bad writing into a very short story.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on October 25, 2007, 03:49:01 PM
Wow. I can't stop laughing at that first sentence. I think I'll go read it again. :lol:  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on October 25, 2007, 05:51:24 PM
It sounds like they removed the fingers in order to do some sort of identification test(s). Fingerprinting? DNA tests? Tying them in a little cloth bag and seeing whether, when suspended from a string, it rotates clockwise or counterclockwise?

Who knows? The first two shouldn't require amputation.

As far as what shocked the family, I think it was finding out that the tabloid story about their loved one's fingers being cut off was actually true.

But yeah. I burst out laughing at the headline too. That article is suitable for framing. :P
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 01, 2007, 08:20:53 AM
This (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6057734.stm) is the finest piece of science journalism I've seen outside of The National Enquirer.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on November 01, 2007, 08:25:47 AM
Hey!  I can make up stuff too!  When do I get published?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 01, 2007, 08:37:58 AM
BBC News, of course. You just have to hire a publicist first.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on November 01, 2007, 08:48:09 AM
Oh my!  That just cracked me up!  Some humans will evolve into squat, ugly goblin-like creatures, while others will have big penises and pert breasts.


My luck, my descendants will be among the saggy breasted, small-dicked, goblins.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 07, 2007, 09:45:05 AM
"Never so few veterans as now to remember Pearl Harbor Day (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-marbella1207,0,6971239.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout)"

I would imagine this is true every year.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 11, 2008, 10:49:33 PM
"Horses Spared in U.S. Face Death Across the Border" (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11horse.html?em&ex=1200286800&en=08bc2832fb74a5d9&ei=5087%0A)

I wondered for a second what U.S. face death was.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 12, 2008, 06:18:05 PM
I think it has to do with Botox.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 12, 2008, 06:34:39 PM
Well, the law that spared those horses is a stupid law.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 12, 2008, 08:27:16 PM
Agreed, Porter.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 22, 2008, 12:00:29 PM
Punsters should not be allowed to write headlines. (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2241717520080122?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 22, 2008, 12:06:51 PM
The other day I saw a book titled "The Fat Burning Bible".  For several seconds I tried to figure out why people would want to burn a fat bible.

Does it ever bug anybody else how the word "bible" is used as a synonym for "authoritative guide"?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 22, 2008, 12:08:52 PM
A well-placed hyphen would have eliminated that misreading.

And I can't say I've ever been bothered by that use of "bible."
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Neutros the Radioactive Dragon on January 22, 2008, 01:54:13 PM
Quote
The other day I saw a book titled "The Fat Burning Bible".  For several seconds I tried to figure out why people would want to burn a fat bible.

Does it ever bug anybody else how the word "bible" is used as a synonym for "authoritative guide"?
Bible has come to mean the opposite for me.

The other day someone took a piece of information as "Gospel".  I replied that the gospels were overrated.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 22, 2008, 01:59:46 PM
Even though I know the general usage of the word, I can't help but briefly wonder whether these "bibles" are made up of a bunch of smaller books.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 22, 2008, 02:04:04 PM
I don't know why a bible would need to be made up of smaller books. That's not its most salient feature, in my opinion.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 22, 2008, 02:08:59 PM
I'm not talking about The Bible, I'm talking about the meaning and etymology of the word "bible".
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 22, 2008, 02:15:02 PM
But bible just means "book." Why does a generic bible need to be made up of smaller books?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 22, 2008, 02:21:54 PM
Really?  Well, I guess I was wrong.  I thought the word meant a collection of books.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 22, 2008, 02:47:43 PM
It looks like, strictly speaking, it does not.

The Greek word biblion just meant "book" or "scroll." The phrase ta biblia hagia means "the holy books." Biblia was borrowed into English, but I can't tell just from Etymonline.com whether it was used as a singular or plural. If it was plural, it would have meant "books," not "collection of books," I believe.

But before biblia or biblia hagia was in use in Latin, the common term for the Christian scriptures was bibliotheque, which means "repository of books." And of course, this is the source of the word for "library" in the Romance languages.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 22, 2008, 03:07:17 PM
Using "bible" that way doesn't bother me.  Using the word "Torah" in that context would, a lot.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 22, 2008, 03:08:11 PM
Can I ask why? I'm not sure I see the distinction.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 22, 2008, 03:09:29 PM
Because, like you said, "bible" means "book".  "Torah" is something altogether more specific.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 22, 2008, 03:14:40 PM
Well, etymologically, bible means "book." But that's not what it means now. According to Etymonline.com, Torah is a verbal noun from horah "he taught, showed." I don't see why that's particularly sacred, but I could be missing something.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 22, 2008, 07:26:55 PM
Quote
According to Etymonline.com, Torah is a verbal noun from horah "he taught, showed."
Yep. Teacher (moreh/morah) comes from the same root.

Quote
I don't see why that's particularly sacred, but I could be missing something.
I suspect it's a question of the fact that neither Tante nor I consider the word "bible" to have any inherent sanctity, regardless of word origin.

I'm much more blase about how people use the word "god" than terms which are Hebrew (or approximate the Hebrew).
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 23, 2008, 09:48:40 AM
I think if "bible" were being applied to something particularly non-biblical, it might start to bother me.  Like "the crisping pin and stomacher bible" or something.  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 23, 2008, 09:53:29 AM
In the editing world, it's pretty common to refer to your primary usage manual or style guide as a bible.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 23, 2008, 09:58:24 AM
But that's because it's considered authoritative, and you do what it says regardless of what might make sense, no?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 23, 2008, 10:03:33 AM
Pretty much. Unless someone is smart enough to come up with their own house style to override the things in the style guide that they don't like. But then that quickly becomes canonized and declared to be inerrant, too.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 23, 2008, 12:45:14 PM
Wow, I'd never seen Google Library before.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on February 21, 2008, 08:14:58 AM
For Rivka. (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080220/tpl-uk-security-language-81f3b62.html)

It's a Reuters story with no less than twelve "scare quotes" in the article.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on February 21, 2008, 10:20:27 AM
But it's an article about word definitions.  I don't see that they had a choice, besides possibly using Italics.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 21, 2008, 10:25:39 AM
A lot of those instances were still not necessary. I think you could do without "war on terror," "crusade," and "holy war." The rest I think are okay.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on February 21, 2008, 01:33:24 PM
Thanks, Porter.  :lol:

I agree with Jonathon. But even without those it would be pretty quote-heavy.

My favorite quote from the article:
Quote
One shall not target non-combatants, that's a basic rule of humanity that ties us together across religious and national divides.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on February 21, 2008, 01:43:38 PM
I would have semicoloned instead of commaed there.  Poor semicolon, hardly gets to go out unless someone's winking on the internet.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on April 01, 2008, 11:21:37 PM
That's hilarious, Tante. ;)

-------------------

From the Sports section of the Times-Picayune two days ago:

"Chris Paul averaged 20 points, 9 assists, and 3 steals in the months of February and December, becoming the first player to ever average those numbers in consecutive months."

 >.<  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on April 02, 2008, 07:01:47 AM
That is pretty funny, in a scary way.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on April 02, 2008, 08:03:51 AM
I don't get it.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 02, 2008, 08:18:09 AM
February and December are not consecutive months.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on April 02, 2008, 08:21:55 AM
Ah.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 16, 2008, 11:00:01 AM
Am I missing something in this article (http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/05/16/hfh.water.guidelines/index.html)? First the dietitian says that the eight glasses of water a day rule is not supported by research, and then she says that an active woman should drink nine glasses of liquid a day. Is the point just that it doesn't have to be water?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Neutros the Radioactive Dragon on May 16, 2008, 11:23:57 AM
Yes.

Actually, many animals get their hydration from their food as well. The idea of the article is that the old rule is eight glasses, but has never been properly researched. Also pure water is not necessarily needed.

I remember hearing a great interview with another scientist on this, and she had said the same thing.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 16, 2008, 11:29:46 AM
I've heard that both the amount and the idea that it all needs to be water are bunk.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Neutros the Radioactive Dragon on May 16, 2008, 11:39:41 AM
Yes.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 16, 2008, 11:45:38 AM
So then where is she getting nine from?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Neutros the Radioactive Dragon on May 16, 2008, 12:58:14 PM
I wonder about her credentials:

Quote
Food Network dietitian Ellie Krieger

That doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. What I had heard was not as specific. She hasn't sited any sources or studies that we can check.

And why didn't she just say 72 oz. instead?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Zalmoxis on May 17, 2008, 07:05:55 AM
Because Americans have no idea how much an ounce is?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on May 20, 2008, 08:50:49 AM
I think the reason that dieticians tend to recommend that it be all water is because so many other beverages have so many useless calories - even non-processed options like milk and juice. Most Americans already have a problem with too many calories, so using sugar water to stay hydrated doesn't help much.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on May 28, 2008, 12:10:27 PM
Quote
Arena ball isn't the NFL: the field is 28 yards wide and 50 yards long, roughly half the size of an NFL field...

I get that very few writers have math backgrounds, but they should've all taken geometry.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 28, 2008, 12:12:40 PM
That's a very common error.  I've been known to make it myself.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 28, 2008, 12:13:43 PM
On second thought, I'm not sure whether it really constitutes an error or not, since "size" isn't well defined.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on May 28, 2008, 12:14:15 PM
Agreed.  I don't think that makes it excusable, though.  This guy is a professional sports journalist working for the premiere sports magazine in the world.  Plus he has an editor.

Size is only confusing when you're talking about 3-dimensional bodies, because it could either refer to area or volume.  When it's referring to a 2-dimensional body I don't see what else it could reasonably be inferred to mean.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 28, 2008, 12:18:57 PM
Yeah, I'd expect better from Sports Illustrated.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 28, 2008, 12:38:48 PM
Quote
Size is only confusing when you're talking about 3-dimensional bodies, because it could either refer to area or volume. When it's referring to a 2-dimensional body I don't see what else it could reasonably be inferred to mean.
Diameter.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 28, 2008, 12:41:28 PM
The thing is that it's really easy to pick a different word besides "size."
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on May 28, 2008, 01:02:17 PM
Quote
Quote
Size is only confusing when you're talking about 3-dimensional bodies, because it could either refer to area or volume. When it's referring to a 2-dimensional body I don't see what else it could reasonably be inferred to mean.
Diameter.
You know that a football field is rectangular, right?  You're saying that he might have meant diameter?  Or just disputing my general statement?

If the latter, I'll amend to say 'rectangular 2-dimensional bodies'.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 28, 2008, 01:13:33 PM
I was responding to the sentence I quoted.

2 (and 3)-dimensional entities are described as having a size of a length measurement all the time.

"Size" is not a technical term, and without context, you can't really know what it means.

Such as with a non-square rectangle.

Of course, that means that "half the size of on NFL field" doesn't mean much.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on July 15, 2008, 07:39:06 AM
Odd headline of the day:

Mormons make missionary position clear (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24016421-38198,00.html)

 :rolleyes:  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on July 15, 2008, 08:40:14 AM
That has to have been done on purpose.

. . . and the article was very badly proofread. Rather key "not" missing.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 15, 2008, 11:53:16 AM
Quote
That has to have been done on purpose.
I agree. Headline writers have a weakness for bad puns.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on July 18, 2008, 04:52:04 PM
Cast of 300 Advises Obama on Foreign Policy (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/us/politics/18advisers.html?em&ex=1216526400&en=342295d8379827b5&ei=5087%0A)

My kid saw this headline on the front page of today's New York Times and asked me why a bunch of movie actors would be advising the politicians.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on July 18, 2008, 05:12:19 PM
That was the same question that went through my head.

Except I wouldn't have bothered asking the question, assuming that I knew the answer, it being that people in Hollywood have an overinflated opinion of how important they and their opinions are.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on July 30, 2008, 09:16:48 AM
Headline:  "Can't sleep? Blame all those glowing gadgets"

Article: "For now, researchers don't believe the low levels of blue light emitted by gadgets is enough to change our sleep patterns."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25920811/ (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25920811/)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: goofy on July 30, 2008, 10:45:18 AM
Headline: Chinese 'takes more brainpower' - Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.

Article: "It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech." No mention of "more brainpower" at all.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3025796.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3025796.stm)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on February 17, 2009, 04:27:18 PM
Not sure if this is strictly a journalistic problem, but I hate it when links to articles and titles (and content) of articles don't match up. It happens all the time that a link will say something eye-catching that isn't at all what the article is about.

Last night I came across a link that said, "Don't Let Demons Raise Your Kids." Morbidly curious, I clicked the link and found this (http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/family-parenting/article.aspx?cp-documentid=17444917). One word makes such a difference.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Zalmoxis on February 18, 2009, 10:05:06 AM
Yeah. Like those teasers for the 10 o'clock news and you stay up and watch the story and realize that you had already seen it on the Internet (sometimes on Snopes) three years ago.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Noemon on February 25, 2009, 10:28:52 AM
Cop Makes Arrest in Bathroom after Smelling Crack (http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/shared-gen/ap/Feature_Stories/ODD_Bathroom_Bust.html)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on February 25, 2009, 10:32:58 AM
You know, sometimes I think they do that on purpose, just to see if anyone is paying attention.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Noemon on February 25, 2009, 10:50:50 AM
The same thing occurred to me with this one, Tante.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 26, 2009, 08:12:49 AM
This is why all headline writers should be made to fill out a form (http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/mcintyre/blog/2009/02/before_you_pun_fill_out_this_form.html) before they pun.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on February 26, 2009, 09:17:14 AM
I'm tempted to send that to my dad. But he'll claim it obviously doesn't apply to spoken puns.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on March 18, 2009, 08:32:18 AM
A headline I saw today was broken this way, making it very difficult to parse:

Is peanut allergy
cure nuts?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 18, 2009, 08:41:27 AM
That took me a few tries to get. Also, –5 points for the lame pun.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 23, 2009, 07:46:32 PM
Even the New York Times is not free from making garden path sentences. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/us/politics/24gitmo.html?partner=rss&emc=rss)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 23, 2009, 08:49:49 PM
Guantanamo closing hands?  That sounds worse than waterboarding!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on May 23, 2009, 11:40:06 PM
My favorite ambiguous headline ever is "British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands"
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on May 23, 2009, 11:57:37 PM
Now that's what I call reparations.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 24, 2009, 07:52:00 AM
My favorite is the apocryphal "Students Help Rape Victims".
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Neutros the Radioactive Dragon on May 24, 2009, 07:57:22 AM
The mind boggles.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 01, 2009, 03:15:29 PM
Union voices GM deal job concerns (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8074834.stm)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 02, 2009, 03:32:03 AM
What's wrong with that one, besides being awkward and the Union being ambiguous?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 02, 2009, 08:30:42 AM
I first read "voices" as a noun and "deal" as a verb.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 23, 2009, 08:51:55 PM
There's a beautiful misplaced modifier at the beginning of the third paragraph in this article (http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=are-urban-tapeworms-on-the-rise-2009-06-11):
Quote
Once the bane of rural Japanese villagers, a paper in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases reports on the spread of the the salmon tapeworm Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on June 23, 2009, 09:01:59 PM
:lol:  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Noemon on June 24, 2009, 04:27:38 AM
:: laugh :: That's great.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on August 05, 2009, 11:47:15 AM
AUGH!!!   Horse Power: Colt Tramples Car on Israeli Highway  (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,537120,00.html?test=latestnews)

(a headline on FoxNews.com)

I HATE IT when journalists who know nothing about animals trying to get cutesy with headlines.
A "colt" is a male horse, usually less than one or two years of age (not breeding stud yet).

the horse in that video:
1) doesn't appear to be male
2) certainly does appear to be that young.


< -- has new pet peeve.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 05, 2009, 11:51:48 AM
The "horse power" pun is also pretty terrible.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: sweet clementine on August 05, 2009, 12:50:42 PM
Why did they feel the need to use the word colt?  A good rule of writing, if a generic term will do, use it (if you're not going to actually check any facts at least).  Don't expose your own ignorance by trying to be specific.  It's like, I'm looking at a bowl of pasta, I could say "look at that bowl of pasta" or I could say "look at that bowl of cous-cous".  Is cous-cous a pasta?  I don't know.  But now we have to discuss it, AND turns out I'm an idiot because I got cous-cous confused with pene.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 05, 2009, 12:57:05 PM
"Colt" is also the name of a car.  Dodge made them.  I suppose they could have called the horse a "mustang".  That's a kind of car, too.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on August 05, 2009, 01:00:17 PM
Well, the whole video upsets me to begin with -- because obviously the car "filming" the loose horses are not attempting to help the situation, their following them right along with that is, if anything, making the situation much worse for all.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 25, 2009, 11:33:20 PM
The local county newspaper here has (just in time for August!) an article about how August is National Watermelon Month.  Included is some dubious watermelon trivia: "Although people treat it as a fruit, the watermelon is actually a vegetable.  It is related to the Cucumber Family."  "Seedless watermelons are made by exposing the watermelon blossoms to high doses of radiation, rendering them sterile.  Scientists tell us that the residual radiation in the watermelon is not harmful when consumed in moderate amounts."


I'm cracking the heck up.  I guess with the times they way they are, they had to cut back on fact-checkers.  And journalists.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on August 26, 2009, 07:13:13 AM
Although people treat it as a vegetable, the cucumber is actually a fruit! It is related to the watermelon family.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 26, 2009, 08:23:30 AM
Are they radioactive?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 26, 2009, 08:24:18 AM
Let's turn out the lights and check!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: saxon75 on August 26, 2009, 12:06:24 PM
I have seen a pickled cucumber glow in the dark.  Of course, it had been plugged into a 110-volt wall socket.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on September 07, 2009, 11:30:44 AM
From the front page of today's New York Times: Gadget Makers Can ID Theives.

Well good!  Those ID thieves should be canned.


I had to read the headline a few times before I understood.  I just kept wondering why the Times was getting all slangy with "can" instead of "fire".
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 23, 2009, 10:54:28 AM
Out of curiosity, I decided to see what Wikipedia said about copy editing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_editing), and I came across this gem of a quote from the cofounder of the American Copy Editors Society (an association for newspaper editors):
Quote
We want them to be skilled grammarians and wordsmiths and write bright and engaging headlines and must know Quark.
Skilled wordsmiths indeed. That's some of the worst coordination I've ever seen.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on October 23, 2009, 11:30:36 AM
Quote
Out of curiosity, I decided to see what Wikipedia said about copy editing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_editing), and I came across this gem of a quote from the cofounder of the American Copy Editors Society (an association for newspaper editors):
Quote
We want them to be skilled grammarians and wordsmiths and write bright and engaging headlines and must know Quark.
Skilled wordsmiths indeed. That's some of the worst coordination I've ever seen.
And it's even a pretty easy edit. How about:

"We want them to be skilled grammarians and wordsmiths, write bright and engaging headlines, and know Quark."  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 23, 2009, 11:43:54 AM
That's a citation from a workshop.  I'm guessing that this is a quote from something he said, not something he wrote.

It's pretty hard to edit the spoken word like you can the written word.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 23, 2009, 11:44:59 AM
*points to Porter's member title*
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 23, 2009, 11:54:04 AM
*points to Porter's sig*
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 18, 2010, 10:50:33 AM
This is one of the worst headlines I've ever seen. (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/01/15/2010-01-15_beaten_before_in_concrete.html)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 18, 2010, 11:19:43 AM
Wow.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 18, 2010, 12:05:51 PM
That is astoundingly bad. Even for the Daily News.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on January 18, 2010, 01:13:28 PM
As awful as that is, it's a pretty difficult headline to get right.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 18, 2010, 02:19:52 PM
Getting it right would have involved leaving out some of that information.  It's supposed to be just a headline, not the article.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 18, 2010, 02:44:49 PM
Bingo!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on January 18, 2010, 08:20:13 PM
Quote
Bingo!
We're playing blackout this round rivka, ordinary bingos don't count.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 18, 2010, 08:33:09 PM
It's too late.  I already gave her the prize.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 18, 2010, 09:44:58 PM
But it was Porter's bingo . . .
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 18, 2010, 09:55:05 PM
No tagbacks.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on January 19, 2010, 11:40:33 AM
But this (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/01/19/2010-01-19_wisconsin_man_cited_for_rocking_out_to_john_denver.html) article, as linked to on that page, wins serious points for awesomeness.

The link reads: "Oxymoron aside, man ticketed for 'rocking out' to John Denver"
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 19, 2010, 01:01:42 PM
Ah, the editors edited the headline, substituting "Wisconsin" for "Oxymoron aside,".

Alas.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 19, 2010, 01:19:57 PM
That's what the headline says, but the link, for me at least, still says "Oxymoron aside".
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 19, 2010, 01:39:36 PM
The link says "Wisconsin".

I'm confused.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: fugu13 on January 19, 2010, 01:47:13 PM
If you scroll down, on the right there's a link back to the article.

Easiest way to find it is to search for "oxymoron" on the page.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 19, 2010, 02:41:16 PM
Ah.  And there is it.

Huh.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on February 09, 2010, 02:29:14 AM
I read this in Sunday's paper (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/realestate/07scapes.html?scp=1&sq=%22gay%20white%20way%22&st=cse).  Sure, it's a quote from over 50 years ago, but it cracked me up how much language has changed since then, and how weird it sounds to 2010 ears:

Quote
In 1953, John J. Bennett, the chairman of the City Planning Commission, announced his desire to rid Times Square of all the flea circuses, penny arcades, freak shows, wax museums and shooting galleries — which actually sound like a lot of fun.

“We want to keep the Gay White Way gay and white . . ."
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on February 15, 2010, 10:18:43 AM
Crash Blossoms (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/magazine/31FOB-onlanguage-t.html)!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on February 15, 2010, 10:31:25 AM
Fun article. :)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 16, 2010, 10:05:06 PM
Speaking of crash blossoms . . .

G.O.P. Hopes for Senate Control Face Hurdles (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/us/17senate.html)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on February 17, 2010, 06:48:18 AM
The sad thing is, they could fix that with a simple 's after GOP.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on February 17, 2010, 09:30:52 AM
I don't get it, JB (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tfNhL_R_rI).

"Hopes" is plural, and they're the ones facing the hurdles, right?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on February 17, 2010, 10:58:06 AM
Yes. The problem is that it can easily be misread, until the reader runs into another verb: face.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on February 17, 2010, 11:53:20 AM
I don't like face hurdles because they're always looking up my skirts when I jump over them.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: sweet clementine on February 17, 2010, 11:58:29 AM
But props to you for jumping hurdles in a skirt
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on February 17, 2010, 01:24:26 PM
I'm quite dainty.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on February 17, 2010, 02:15:25 PM
Quote
I'm quite dainty.
Man, the joke I was about to make in reference to this was so inappropriate.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on February 17, 2010, 02:32:00 PM
:: pouts ::

I wanna see the joke!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on February 17, 2010, 03:22:50 PM
It was in reference to Tante's post about the giant spiderweb of indifference picture, in which she stated that her crotch was undainty.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on February 17, 2010, 09:08:54 PM
"Dainty" has got to be one of my favorite adjectives.  It really doesn't get enough air time for my taste.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 20, 2010, 09:00:56 PM
I can't figure out how to parse this headline (http://abcnews.go.com/US/historic-flooding-predicted-us-midwest/story?id=10148523).
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on March 20, 2010, 10:07:04 PM
The title that appears on the top (in FF, at least) makes far more sense.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 22, 2010, 02:49:48 AM
Butcher Sparkles in Duck Loss During Annual Trip to Florida

 :wacko:  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 02, 2010, 10:11:45 AM
'Very Lucky': Cops Comb Foiled Times Sq. Bomb Clues (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/times-square-bomb-scare-authorities-probe-evidence-clues/story?id=10532755)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 04, 2010, 06:05:19 PM
Good spelling, Fox News. (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/30/arizona-legislature-passes-banning-ethnic-studies-programs/)
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on May 04, 2010, 06:12:42 PM
Is the misspelling theirs or the person they're quoting?
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 04, 2010, 06:16:29 PM
I would guess it's their own. Typos in quotations are usually silently corrected. If it really is a misspelling that belongs to the quoted person, and Fox News wants to preserve it, then they should add a [sic].
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on May 04, 2010, 08:53:44 PM
Or a  :sick:  
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: JT on May 13, 2010, 10:41:04 AM
Sports journalism continues to keep the bar quite low:
Quote
He was the 10th ranked player in the state of Virginia, but his All State recognition came on defense where he possessed all of the intangibles including a 4.4 forty time.

--------------

Since I don't know how obvious it is to non-sports fans, something like a 40 yard dash time is decidedly tangible. Intangibles are things like leadership ability, heart, and work ethic.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on May 24, 2010, 05:22:19 PM
WHO thought that typeface was a good idea? (http://www.nasfaa.org/Publications/2010/Transcript/Vol21N1/pdfs/FiresofPell6to10.pdf) Not the one most of the text is in; the one the headlines are in. And even worse, the examples are in it too!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 24, 2010, 06:22:20 PM
What. The. Crap.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on May 25, 2010, 05:40:52 AM
That is one of the weirdest design choices I've ever seen. You can barely even read it!
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on May 25, 2010, 06:28:04 AM
Quote
WHO thought that typeface was a good idea? (http://www.nasfaa.org/Publications/2010/Transcript/Vol21N1/pdfs/FiresofPell6to10.pdf)
Someone who thinks that owning Adobe Illustrator makes him a graphic designer.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Neutros the Radioactive Dragon on May 25, 2010, 07:33:53 AM
Quote
Quote
WHO thought that typeface was a good idea? (http://www.nasfaa.org/Publications/2010/Transcript/Vol21N1/pdfs/FiresofPell6to10.pdf)
Someone who thinks that owning Adobe Illustrator makes him a graphic designer.
QFT
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on May 25, 2010, 07:38:40 AM
Well, it WAS the first issue. One can only pray it improves.

The content was fairly good.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 25, 2010, 08:38:18 AM
And to be fair, the design looks pretty good aside from the awful blackletter font.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on May 25, 2010, 09:12:34 AM
Indeed.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on May 25, 2010, 09:27:17 AM
That's hilarious that they wen't with a demonic theme because Pell rhymes with Hell.
Title: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on May 25, 2010, 09:40:32 AM
If you think THAT is why, you didn't read any of the article. :P

In general, I am for year-round Pell. But the implementation, the new regs, and the new requirements for schools are onerous and convoluted.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on June 15, 2010, 05:37:45 AM
Link. (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/06/15/oil.disaster.costner/index.html?hpt=T2)

Bragging rights to he/she who first finds the egregious spelling error within the article.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 15, 2010, 08:58:27 AM
I must admit that I'm not seeing anything.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on June 15, 2010, 08:59:30 AM
Oh, good. It's not just me.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: fugu13 on June 15, 2010, 09:03:48 AM
They forgot the exclamation mark on "inconceivable!"
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on June 15, 2010, 11:13:12 AM
Maybe they fixed it.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 15, 2010, 02:46:53 PM
"Sebellius stumps for anti-childhood obesity program"

That one kind of cracked me up.  

Also, lynchpin.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 15, 2010, 03:15:37 PM
I thought about lynchpin, but apparently the first spelling listed in Merriam-Webster is linchpin.

But I suppose an obesity program would be pretty anti-childhood.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on June 15, 2010, 04:09:47 PM
Yeah they fixed it.  :cry:

It was the quote, "Each machine weighs about 4,000 pounds, he said, and will allow crews to collect more oil."

In the original article they had "weighs" spelled "ways."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 15, 2010, 04:11:38 PM
Ha! Yeah, that's pretty bad. But I'm glad to know I'm not crazy or a terrible proofreader.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on June 15, 2010, 04:41:58 PM
Ha! Yeah, that's pretty bad. But I'm glad to know I'm not crazy or a terrible proofreader.
You're the best of all of us Jon. :)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on June 15, 2010, 04:50:07 PM
When I first saw a link with the headline "BP enlists help from Kevin Costner" I was sure it was from The Onion. I was very, very confused when it wasn't.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 15, 2010, 05:35:21 PM
James Cameron actually has poured a lot of his obscene fortune into deep water exploration toys, I wasn't as surprised to hear he was being consulted.  Unfortunately, he said something about "nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure." ;)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 16, 2010, 11:40:57 PM
Crash blossom du jour:

A Scandinavian Hit Sets Publishers Seeking More (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/books/16noir.html?src=me&ref=general)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Scott R on July 05, 2010, 05:42:15 PM
From here: (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100705/ap_on_bi_ge/climate)

Quote
But the review by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency claimed that none of the errors effected the fundamental conclusion by U.N. panel of scientists: that global warming caused by humans already is happening and is threatening the lives and well-being of millions of people.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on July 13, 2010, 12:17:17 AM
Link. (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/12/barefoot.bandit/index.html?hpt=C1&fbid=zunr74XCRM5)

From the article,

Quote
The beginning and end of Harris-Moore's two-year run as a wanted fugitive is the stuff of Hollywood. Indeed, one studio has optioned his story.

*rah rah shishk boom ba!*

Quote
"I can understand on one level people being interested in his activities, but I think most thoughtful people, when they stop and think about it, realize he's a common criminal," said Bill Cummings, a sheriff who has been tracking Harris-Moore for years. "Those who see him as a folk hero aren't looking any deeper than the surface."

It's frustrating that people idolize criminals like this, and the press glamorizing him doesn't make things any easier.  Literally after that quote the article continues.

Quote
The strapping 6-foot, 5-inch high school dropout was raised by a single mother in a trailer on Camano Island off the rugged coast of Washington state.

 <_<

Quote
As a thief, Harris-Moore started out small -- shoplifting and breaking into homes, police say.

He earned his nickname by living in the woods and leaving bare footprints at some of his alleged crime scenes. One detective called him "a feral child."

Helen Simmons, a store owner on Camano Island, told CNN affiliate KOMO what Harris-Moore allegedly stole from her: "Beef jerky, potato chips, food," she said. "Never beer, never wine, just food."

 :angry:

Quote
He might have remained an obscure juvenile criminal, but he gained national fame after he took to the skies, allegedly stealing and crash-landing airplanes despite never having any formal flight training.

 :pirate:
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 16, 2010, 10:23:00 PM
Quote
Media and blog reports have sensationalized those concerns, with some dubbing the situation “Antennagate,” Jobs said. (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-17/apple-sets-up-cots-for-engineers-working-butts-off-on-iphone.html)

Written completely without irony, I'm sure.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on July 17, 2010, 12:16:52 AM
Well duh, he's totally like Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to... himself.  Or, you know, just trashing stuff.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on July 17, 2010, 01:03:41 AM
Earthquake rattles DC area; journalists get to use the word temblor again (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100716/ap_on_re_us/us_dc_earthquake)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on July 18, 2010, 04:24:30 AM
Strong earthquake shakes Alaska; Yahoo News gets to use the word temblor twice! (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100718/ap_on_re_us/us_alaska_earthquake)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 18, 2010, 10:02:57 AM
Of 103 instances of temblor in Mark Davies' corpus, 91 occurred in newspapers, magazines, or TV or radio news programs. One of those was a reference to the Temblor Range (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temblor_Range). Twelve were from fiction, including three that were actually Spanish. Not a single instance in academic writing.

And I just remembered that I own a copy of the Associated Press Stylebook, so I looked up temblor. It referred me to earthquake, where I found this:
Quote
OTHER TERMS: The word temblor (not tremblor) is a synonym for earthquake.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on July 18, 2010, 10:59:43 AM
This explains so much!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on July 21, 2010, 10:07:06 AM
From a link (the actual headline wasn't that bad): 90,000 lb. chicken nugget recall


Presumably it was recalled for causing a choking hazard.  :p
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 21, 2010, 10:30:20 AM
Sounds more like a crushing hazard.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on July 23, 2010, 08:49:11 AM
Or even a temblor hazard.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 16, 2010, 03:02:06 PM
Crash blossom du jour:

Quote
Days from death, Fla. wildlife officials free plastic jar that was stuck on bear cub's head (http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/a34947.html)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on August 16, 2010, 04:30:19 PM
That's not a crash blossom but a misplaced modifier, no?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on August 16, 2010, 05:33:30 PM
That's awesome. "Who's 'days from death?' Oh - Florida wildlife officials. Oh, no, wait - a plastic jar. Oh - no, wait!"
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 16, 2010, 05:33:45 PM
Yeah, you're right—it's not really a crash blossom. It's more than just a misplaced modifier, though. "Freed bear cub's head from plastic jar" would be not only simpler and far less clunky, but also more accurate. Was it really the jar that needed freeing?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 16, 2010, 09:02:01 PM
In a heroic attempt to contain a plague deadly to humans, but harmless to bear cubs, Teddy the Bear Cub stuck a plastic jar full of plague bacilli to his head.  Wildlife officials, misinterpreting his heroic actions as tomfoolery, freed the plastic jar, releasing the plague.  The hapless officials are now days from death.

As are we all.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Scott R on August 23, 2010, 10:49:40 AM
Quote
The backyard mechanic accused of being the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer pleaded not guilty Monday to murdering 10 women and trying to kill one more person over the course of two decades.

Very, very small doses of arsenic.  No, wait-- not arsenic.  Arsenio.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on August 25, 2010, 12:08:00 PM
Yeah, you're right—it's not really a crash blossom. It's more than just a misplaced modifier, though. "Freed bear cub's head from plastic jar" would be not only simpler and far less clunky, but also more accurate. Was it really the jar that needed freeing?

Is it really a jar if it is plastic?   I don't think I've ever called anything plastic a "jar".  To me, a jar must be glass to be a jar.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 25, 2010, 12:17:13 PM
Hmm. Merriam-Webster does say that a jar is "made typically of earthenware or glass", but I don't personally have a problem with "plastic jar". What else would you call it?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on August 25, 2010, 01:37:18 PM
a jug.  (?)

or - depends on shape.  I usually say "plastic container"  (or in this specific case, I would most likely say "Peanut Butter container")
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on August 25, 2010, 05:17:33 PM
So what do you call the thing you screw onto it?  What if it contains mayonnaise or nutella?  They tend to be the precise shape of the glass forerunner.

P.S.  But I guess it's a lot like the bag/sack distinction.  Has that been muddied for anyone by the new microfiber, reusable things?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 25, 2010, 08:32:55 PM
I have many jars of peanut butter. They are all plastic containers.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on September 10, 2010, 10:47:32 AM
I was just skimming the wikipedia front page and it talked about some princess being a suicide victim.  I thought that was weird.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Scott R on September 13, 2010, 05:47:46 AM
My latest story effort is about a monster who hunts down princesses with fantastic destinies; his most recent target is a girl who keeps trying to commit suicide.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on September 13, 2010, 07:21:40 PM
My sister the psychiatrist tells me suicide victim is a common usage, though she thought suspected perp was funny.  She said suicide is considered an epidemic, so people who succumb are victims.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on September 13, 2010, 07:26:17 PM
Personally, I don't like it, because I think it implies a lack of control that is dangerous to convey to people in vulnerable circumstances.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on September 13, 2010, 07:32:42 PM
"Suicide victim" returns tens of thousands of results on Google, so as awkward as it my sound when you reason it out it sure sounds common.

One definition of victim is shown as "a person who suffers from a destructive or injurious action or agency", so it is technically correct in that regard.

But, yeah, I don't like it either.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 17, 2010, 05:52:55 PM
Seriously, New York Times? "Millenniums (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/health/17aids.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general)"?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on September 17, 2010, 06:26:27 PM
Forums?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 17, 2010, 06:34:01 PM
Do a Google search for the frequency of forums versus fora and millenniums versus millennia.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on September 17, 2010, 09:42:19 PM
I prefer to use "forii". ;)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on September 19, 2010, 11:50:56 AM
You are an affront to the neutral gender.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on September 19, 2010, 12:13:59 PM
I get that a lot.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on October 26, 2010, 10:05:40 AM
They did it again (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101026/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_earthquake). I'm going to have to raise an armed resistance, I think. If it was a printed newspaper, I'd send them a bloody horse's head wrapped in their article, as a warning.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on October 29, 2010, 07:26:18 AM
Did what? I read that link, and don't see the word Tremblor in it.  I do see tremor.  Did they correct it maybe?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on October 29, 2010, 07:47:47 AM
Hmm.... they changed it. Yahoo news seems to do that - keep the links to news articles the same but paste in newer articles as events progressed.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 29, 2010, 09:09:36 AM
No, it's still there.

Quote
A group of Australians said they were hanging out on the back deck of their chartered surfing vessel, anchored in a bay, when the temblor hit just before 10 p.m. It generated a wave that caused them to smash into a neighboring boat, and before they knew it, a fire was ripping through their cabin.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on October 29, 2010, 09:21:28 AM
I once wrote a song whose lyrics included the word "temblor".  It rhymed with "dissembler".  Rivka heard me sing the song, so she can vouch for the veracity.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on October 29, 2010, 10:26:09 AM
Love it. I once wrote a song called "Don't Defenestrate My Love." I've only written two songs in my life - the other was called "A Touching Song."

I've never used temblor though.

No, it's still there.

Quote
A group of Australians said they were hanging out on the back deck of their chartered surfing vessel, anchored in a bay, when the temblor hit just before 10 p.m. It generated a wave that caused them to smash into a neighboring boat, and before they knew it, a fire was ripping through their cabin.

Ah! Thank you. I'm not crazy.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on October 29, 2010, 11:07:58 AM
JT recorded his tune to my song "How Can I Miss You (when you won't go away)".  It's on his first album.  His version is a lot less Country than my version.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on October 29, 2010, 11:49:01 AM
Rivka heard me sing the song, so she can vouch for the veracity.
Uh . . .

I don't remember this. But I have every reason to think the fault lies on my sadly deficient memory.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on October 29, 2010, 11:51:40 AM
In Vegas, I sang it for JT.  It was the one about the sneezing.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on October 29, 2010, 01:19:32 PM
Just call me Sam Beckett.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on October 29, 2010, 01:48:02 PM
So you're saying you won't verify the veracity? :cry:
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on October 30, 2010, 09:20:58 PM
Can't confirm what I can't recall.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 30, 2010, 04:54:19 PM
"New NHTSA Study Shows Slight Increase in Drug Use Among Fatally Injured Drivers" (http://wot.motortrend.com/6732537/government/new-nhtsa-study-shows-slight-increase-in-drug-use-among-fatally-injured-drivers/index.html)

As the third commenter says, "Who can blame them? If I was fatally injured, I'd be getting high too."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on December 08, 2010, 08:37:34 PM
I kicked myself after I clicked on this, but I really thought it meant some baby had survived something traumatic and was celebrating their first holiday.  Like half of a conjoined twin tragedy or something. 

Surviving Baby's First Holiday. (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700089669/Surviving-babys-first-holiday-How-to-make-sure-everyone-gets-equal-face-time-with-baby-this.html)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on December 09, 2010, 03:27:53 AM
I think one of my pet peeves is people who whine about the stress of the holiday season. If it's that bad, cut back. Don't make joyous occasions miserable for yourself and then whine about it to everyone else.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on December 09, 2010, 08:15:18 AM
But it's a Pesach tradition!  We celebrate the redemption from slavery.  How better to appreciate that than to make sure that you are properly oppressed in preparation for the holiday.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 09, 2010, 08:25:41 AM
Speak for yourself. :P
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on December 09, 2010, 09:16:58 AM
I am!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on December 09, 2010, 10:00:34 AM
One of my best friends is in a relationship with a non practicing Jew and they occasionally talk about putting a holiday themed Jewish cookbook together titled, "They Tried To Kill Us But We Lived, So Let's Eat!"

I like the title.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 09, 2010, 10:21:14 AM
No, no. That's not how the line (and it's well-known) goes. It's:

Summary of (almost) every Jewish holiday:
They tried to kill us.
We survived.
Let's eat!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on December 09, 2010, 10:22:13 AM
No, no. That's not how the line (and it's well-known) goes. It's:

Summary of (almost) every Jewish holiday:
They tried to kill us.
We survived.
Let's eat!
Well how could I know this!?

edit: That's a little more angry sounding than I intended.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 09, 2010, 10:39:01 AM
I don't think I was implying that you could or should have.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on December 10, 2010, 09:48:51 PM
A lot of the stress people go through on the holidays has to do with in laws, and trying to make an appearance for both families on each special day.  The main one that has been an issue for us is New Year's Eve.  My husband doesn't think my family really does anything special, and I think his family overprograms it. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on December 11, 2010, 06:35:48 AM
pooka: What does/has your family do/done traditionally?

-----------

My MIL has suddenly made a very big deal out of becoming friends with my mother.  My mother is flying in this coming Sunday and my MIL absolutely must spend an evening with her this next week and become friends.

Of course I am all about friendships, and my mom is a very charismatic person.  Seems strange, as my MIL hasn't made a big deal out of making friends with her other nine kid's in-laws.  She has also indicated in the past that she very much dislikes my mother's personality (my mom knows this).  Of course, that might have been a function of her dealing with abandonment issues and Tiffany gets along with my family famously, so she perhaps mistook that for hating her own family.

Anyway, I'll ask my mother about it, but I don't really like asking her to do something like this as it's kinda awkward, how do you say no without coming across as a snob?  When I try to compare my grandparents from both sides, they never really knew each other, I don't think I know any families where both mothers in-law are good friends.  I'm sure it happens, but it's certainly not an expected relationship.

I guess it doesn't really matter to me, I get along with my MIL just fine, I guess I just don't enjoy throwing this on my mom during the short two weeks or so she will be here.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on December 11, 2010, 06:55:58 AM
That is definitely weird. I think passive-aggressive me would just book up her time with you so that your mom simply doesn't have a spare moment to spend with your MIL, unfortunately.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on December 11, 2010, 07:11:43 AM
My family just plays games until midnight, then does the pop balloons and drink Martinelli's, then go to bed.  They might have some snacks and hors d'oeuvres, but there's nothing traditional about it.

My husband's family has a buffet, though I've never had the supposed traditional foods of oysters and kippered herring.  I do always enjoy the cocktail shrimp, though the enjoyment was a little less during the years my children were young and I was supposed to make sure they didn't take too much or make a mess.  Then there is a talent show, which has been causing some bad feelings the last few years because it is an event that tends to really emphasize the different parenting techniques as the family grows.  And it's boring.  It also uses up all the time for just hanging out and playing games, forget about watching movies and picking a movie is a pain in the butt now that the family is so big, with a lot of grandchildren and a matriarch who refuses to watch anything animated.  She maintains this set in stone opinion that anything animated is drivel from the 70's when slackers were the target audience and all animation was drivel.  But, yeah.  They do have better food at my in laws.  Oh, they've also tried to institute a wacky wardrobe item contest in recent years which my husband doesn't enjoy. 

But I remembered the real reason we don't go to my family is because Provo is a lot further drive and we try not to be on the roads New Year's eve too much and there isn't room to stay over. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on December 11, 2010, 07:18:24 AM
Wow. I've spent most of my holidays in recent years in rooms by myself so this all sounds so odd to me.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on December 11, 2010, 07:21:38 AM
Brinestone: I tend to do that just be default, I love my parents to death.  But I can't help feeling like if my mom does try to politely say no, that her mom will end up festering about it for who knows how long?


----

pooka: That sounds decidedly not fun.  I'm sure in a few years I'll have a chance to put my money where my mouth is, but I've always felt like new traditions shouldn't be invented in the hopes they will just stick.  Some traditions catch on my accident, but there are plenty that live on because they were carefully considered and designed.  Not necessarily complex, even simple things can become wonderful traditions, but carefully considered.  Also, I'm also starting to get the feeling that with grand parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, cousin's spouses, grandkids all attending the same functions, there just isn't room enough, but is that a good thing to be feeling?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on December 11, 2010, 07:43:38 AM
Wow. I've spent most of my holidays in recent years in rooms by myself so this all sounds so odd to me.
Well, everthing has it's price.  I love having family, but I'm contemplating buying 33 Christmas presents now, that's if my husband doesn't ask for my help with the children's presents which I really have to expect so that's 36.  Oh, I guess I can subtract 5 as my children don't buy presents for themselves.

I've found that when grandparents die, the cousins (generally adult cousins) don't spend holidays together so much, or you trade off what holidays you spend where. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on December 11, 2010, 08:23:00 AM
My family has lots of Christmas traditions for the days leading up to the big day, whereas Jonathon's mostly keeps it low-key. I tend to LOVE all the traditions and stuff to do: we go watch The Nutcracker ballet in the city, we pick out a real Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, we decorate cookies, we sleep "under" the Christmas tree on the night of the 23rd (just in the same room, in sleeping bags), we put on the Nativity play on Christmas Eve, followed by a musical program, etc., etc. I think it helps keep the kids busy and happy as they wait for Christmas to come.

On New Year's, though, I know I'd be too tired to do anything more than watch movies and play games. Maybe it's just what you grew up with that you're attached too.

That said, I grew up with BIG Christmas breakfasts involving eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate, juice, and mandarin oranges. It just seemed so stressful. I am now very attached to Jonathon's family's tradition of aebelskivers (not terribly difficult to make) and bacon, with juice. Nice enough to be special without taking forever to get on the table and clean up afterward.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on December 11, 2010, 11:27:57 AM
I don't think we have a traditional Christmas breakfast.  My husband grew up with heuvos rancheros, and we've done it now and then, but it really depends on my energy level.  We have our anniversary between Christmas and New Years, so it's not quite the dead week I recall from my youth.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on December 11, 2010, 04:06:52 PM
Pooka, my wedding anniversary is December 28.  When is yours?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on December 11, 2010, 08:59:22 PM
The 29th.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on January 23, 2011, 12:09:15 PM
Scientists Seek Elusive Mate (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/41209480#41209480).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 23, 2011, 02:25:24 PM
Oh, I saw such a weird headline a few weeks back.  something about a Holladay killer loses appeal.  It was right after the holidays, and it totally crossed my streams.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 14, 2011, 10:59:09 PM
IBM's Watson bores as 'Jeopardy' big shot Sherlock (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20031932-71.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20)

I cannot parse this headline.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on February 14, 2011, 11:16:40 PM
It's a horrible headline.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on February 14, 2011, 11:29:00 PM
Not only that, but it's entirely inaccurate.  I found it fascinating.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on February 14, 2011, 11:44:47 PM
We have previously established that your reactions should not be taken as typical.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on February 15, 2011, 12:01:32 AM
Everybody else needs to get with the program.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on February 15, 2011, 05:32:00 AM
I found the episode to be quite enjoyable.  I love that Watson went left to right then top to bottom through the answers, rather then hitting one topic until it was over.  It messed up my ability to focus my thoughts in on one type of thinking.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on February 15, 2011, 07:29:15 AM
Everybody else needs to get with the program.
*snort*
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on February 15, 2011, 07:59:56 AM
IBM's Watson bores as 'Jeopardy' big shot Sherlock (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20031932-71.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20)

I cannot parse this headline.

Are you serious that you cannot parse it, or are you just saying that it's potentially confusing?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on February 15, 2011, 08:23:54 AM
I can parse it, but it is confusing.  Sometimes I think that's a good thing in a headline though—making me pause and forcing me to reread it kind of grabs my attention when I might have otherwise just glossed over the article.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on February 15, 2011, 08:28:35 AM
AFAIC, being able to easily and quickly identify which articles I'm interested in reading is far and away the main purpose of a headline.  Any headline that makes me stop to parse it has failed.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 15, 2011, 09:13:41 AM
Are you serious that you cannot parse it, or are you just saying that it's potentially confusing?

I mean that I have no idea what "big shot Sherlock" is supposed to mean.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 15, 2011, 09:13:53 AM
AFAIC, being able to easily and quickly identify which articles I'm interested in reading is far and away the main purpose of a headline.  Any headline that makes me stop to parse it has failed.

Agreed.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on February 15, 2011, 09:15:29 AM
Are you serious that you cannot parse it, or are you just saying that it's potentially confusing?

I mean that I have no idea what "big shot Sherlock" is supposed to mean.


Like, the Holmes guy who uses clues to solve mysteries?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on February 15, 2011, 09:17:18 AM
AFAIC, being able to easily and quickly identify which articles I'm interested in reading is far and away the main purpose of a headline.  Any headline that makes me stop to parse it has failed.

Agreed.


It's "good" in the same way those annoying HeadOn commercials (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeadOn#Commercial) are.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on February 15, 2011, 09:23:47 AM
I guess I technically agree with that.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on February 15, 2011, 10:56:22 AM
Are you serious that you cannot parse it, or are you just saying that it's potentially confusing?

I mean that I have no idea what "big shot Sherlock" is supposed to mean.

Over-hyped finder of answers.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 15, 2011, 11:11:48 AM
Yeah, I see it now. I think it was just awkward enough that it put me off and made me not want to put forth the effort to figure it out.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Zalmoxis on February 17, 2011, 06:00:38 PM
It doesn't matter, Jonathon -- it's alliterative!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Kate Boots on February 24, 2011, 12:33:49 PM
It doesn't matter, Jonathon -- it's alliterative!

There is a common sarcastic phrase, "no s***, Sherlock", that (usually young) people use when someone has said something obvious. Like, "no kidding, Genius".  Maybe the headline writer has the sound of this in his head when he came up with the headline?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 24, 2011, 12:55:22 PM
Possibly. The funny thing is that this is far from the first time that I've read something really strange, awkward, or outright unintelligible on CNET, only to find that it was written by this particular author.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on March 01, 2011, 06:01:36 AM
Link (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/01/new.zealand.wizard/index.html?hpt=C2).

I think Annie has permanently ruined the word "temblor" for me.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on March 01, 2011, 06:22:07 AM
It wasn't me, it was the journalists.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 14, 2011, 10:19:38 AM
Just to save Anneke the trouble:

temblor temblor temblor temblor temblor

Sheesh!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on March 14, 2011, 10:48:18 AM
I know. The articles were too traumatic for me to repost, though.

Every few hours throughout the day lately I think of Japan and get sad :(
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on March 15, 2011, 08:36:20 PM
"Teachers pay be based on scores?" 

It's so close to a well formed ebonics phrase, it had me sort of laughing. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on March 17, 2011, 11:47:42 AM
Quote
I am shocked that the church would support a bill that literally sacrifices 50,000 Utah children, who are the victims of identity theft, for the benefit of illegal aliens

Ok, it's not a journalist, it's someone they're quoting (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51439173-76/bills-burton-church-immigration.html.csp?page=1). But priceless nonetheless.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on March 18, 2011, 01:17:28 PM
Yeah, definitely one of the stupidest iterations of "literally" I've ever seen.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on March 22, 2011, 02:57:33 PM
OK, weirdest story lead-in ever:

Quote
Cougs go to the Big Easy...time for a primer on a New Orleans legend
A BYU music professor's research profiles some revolutionary recordings of jazz legend Louis Armstrong, a native of BYU basketball's Sweet 16 destination.

"We have an article on Louie Armstrong."

"Link it to the BYU basketball team."

"How?"

"I don't care, just do it."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on March 22, 2011, 03:37:06 PM
Ha!  Seriously.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 22, 2011, 03:39:08 PM
Ugh. Awkward.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on April 03, 2011, 08:00:17 AM
From a headline on MSN's website, apparently "Kate Middleton was bullying victim."  :blink:

It would have worked so much better if they'd stuck with the shorter, "Kate Middleton was bullied."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on April 04, 2011, 12:42:56 PM
Or placed victim then the word of before bullying.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on April 04, 2011, 03:53:22 PM
No idea how long this link (http://edition.cnn.com//) will show the typo,


"Bodies from an Air France flight that crashed two years have been found in the plane's wreckage in the Atlantic Ocean, a French government minister said Monday."

That plane took a very long time to complete crashing.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 04, 2011, 03:56:17 PM
Maybe it crashed on a time-shifting island. That happens sometimes, you know.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on April 04, 2011, 04:00:13 PM
 :D Jonathon for the win!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on April 04, 2011, 04:45:52 PM
 :D
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on April 05, 2011, 07:38:58 AM
(http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/dirty-humor-photos-28.jpg)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on April 05, 2011, 08:15:02 AM
(http://files.sharenator.com/jesus_facepalm_facepalm_jesus_epic_demotivational_poster_1218659828_Facepalm_collection-s640x682-82175-580.jpg)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 05, 2011, 09:33:47 AM
That's . . . unfortunate.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 05, 2011, 09:54:43 AM
The sad thing is that they've changed the headline online, and now it's just ungrammatical: "Bishops agree new rules on sex abuse (http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/bishops-agree-sex-abuse-rules-55509.html)".
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on April 06, 2011, 09:12:16 AM
(http://i615.photobucket.com/albums/tt239/TanteEsther/Headline.jpg)

If the looms are shut down, how will our textiles get woven? :angst:
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on April 06, 2011, 03:05:40 PM
China spins all our clothing these days anyway.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on April 08, 2011, 08:37:35 AM
Quote from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/04/08/barack-obama-s-friend-in-alleged-sex-sting-115875-23045311/
A FRIEND of Barack Obama has been arrested for allegedly soliciting a prostitute.

Bobby Titcomb, 49, was held by an undercover policewoman in a sting in downtown Honolulu, in Hawaii.


I love journalistic writing.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on April 10, 2011, 04:25:00 PM
Quote
Today: sun followed by clouds...

Tomorrow: ...cloudy most of the time

Gee, thanks guys!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on April 20, 2011, 08:05:10 PM
Quote from: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_20_nyamlb_tormlb_1&mode=wrap
Colon proves he can 'Phil' Hughes' shoes


See how important that accent in Bartolo Colón's name can be?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on April 26, 2011, 12:19:10 PM
Quote from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110426/ap_on_re_us/us_plane_crash_cocaine
Wind and current have spread the debris, but 23 packages of cocaine have been found, Garcia said. He said he could not say how much the cocaine weighs.

Why not just say "Wind and currents have spread the debris, but 23 packages of cocaine have been found so far.   Garcia could not say how much that cocaine weighs," I say.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 04, 2011, 01:35:16 PM
Sometimes I find headline conventions kind of quirky and annoying; sometimes I find them downright ungrammatical and nonsensical. This is one of the latter (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=15374888).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 06, 2011, 03:23:01 PM
I guess I should've posted the actual headline, because now they've gone and revised it.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on May 06, 2011, 04:18:17 PM
I guess I should've posted the actual headline, because now they've gone and revised it.
No need, I saw it in time to agree with your consternation.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on May 07, 2011, 12:42:47 AM
No need; BB saw it. So everything is fine with the world. The rest of us can just move along ;)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on May 07, 2011, 07:39:09 PM
I wish more things worked that way.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on May 19, 2011, 06:19:59 AM
Woman missing since she got lost

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/5410513-417/woman-missing-since-she-got-lost.html
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 19, 2011, 08:52:38 AM
The real question is whether she'll stop being missing once she's not lost.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on May 19, 2011, 09:02:50 AM
The headline in Onionesque.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on June 23, 2011, 07:47:36 AM
Quote from: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/jorge_the_hero_for_one_day_txWKnsJWAhaVluGdxrw0YL
And Posada probably understands, deep within his heart, that for all the hits that have been springing off his bat lately, for all the swagger that lately has returned to his step, he is still just one more 1-for-20 skid away from pondering the same abyss that’s been looming in front of him since the beginning of the season.

“I’m just doing what I always said I would do,” Posada said between games, inside the cool refuse of the visitor’s clubhouse at Great American Ball Park. “I’m taking the opportunities when they come and trying to make the most of them.”


Was the New York sportswriter deliberately taking a swipe at Cincinnati, or did he just mean to type "refuge" ?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 23, 2011, 09:35:02 AM
Looks like a typo to me. Unless the clubhouse really is full of cool refuse.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on July 01, 2011, 07:44:05 AM
When teachers go on strike, kids die (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2010193/Teachers-strike-Sophie-Howard-13-killed-falling-branch-school-closed.html)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Neutros the Radioactive Dragon on July 01, 2011, 04:09:49 PM
See what happens! Commie bastages!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on August 02, 2011, 03:02:16 PM
I've decided that in addition to my fatwah against temblors, I would also like to proclaim that no one, anywhere, is ever again to tack "-mageddon" onto the end of a word.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 02, 2011, 03:05:39 PM
You have no idea how much I'm now tempted to find an excuse to use the word "temblormageddon".
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 02, 2011, 11:06:45 PM
It's a very T-rex kind of word.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on August 04, 2011, 07:46:05 PM
Onion-like headlines from real newspapers (http://onionlike.tumblr.com/).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 04, 2011, 07:48:28 PM
 B)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 04, 2011, 09:25:42 PM
I went about 6 weeks back. It was . . . interesting how many of those stories I had already read, and remembered. (Some of the ones I hadn't had dead links, darn it!)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on August 05, 2011, 07:20:34 AM
I was mildly amused by the first page, but "bling wearing cannibals" got me laughing aloud and the literal one about Rihanna made me weep with laughter.  But I probably need to stop and get some work done while the baby is sleeping. Right after I check the stuff board...
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on August 10, 2011, 10:34:35 AM
I have no idea how to parse this one: U.S. Killed Taliban Behind Afghanistan Helicopter Downing (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-10/u-s-killed-taliban-behind-afghanistan-helicopter-downing-1-.html). The only way it makes sense grammatically is if the Taliban whom the U.S. killed is behind the helicopter downing, but if he (they?) is dead, how could he be behind anything? Or maybe they killed him after he downed the helicopter?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 10, 2011, 10:49:20 AM
I think the latter interpretation is right, and the opening paragraph confirms it.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on August 10, 2011, 01:25:05 PM
Not necessarily, zombies are more than capable of bringing down a helicopter given favorable circumstances.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 23, 2011, 10:53:34 PM
See how long it takes to find the verb of the main clause:

Quote
Up on the top of Kennecott's tailings pond, on a road that straddles a line between the north pond, which holds a lake of bluish-gray water, and the south pond, which looks like a native prairie with dry, blond wheat and juniper bushes dotting the fields, Paula Doughty, Kennecott tailings and water services manager, is talking about the mine's philosophy toward environmental stewardship.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 23, 2011, 11:07:30 PM
Wow. I have a tendency towards long sentences, but that one is impressively bad.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 07, 2011, 07:53:28 PM
Have I mentioned before that I hate headline conventions? Well, I do. It took me at least three tries to figure out how to parse this:

Quote
Pelosi Peeved Republicans Opt Out of Rebuttal to Obama Speech (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/07/republicans-opt-not-to-give-rebuttal-to-obama-speech-ticking-off-pelosi/?test=latestnews)

The correct answer: "Pelosi [is] peeved [that] Republicans opt out of rebuttal to Obama speech."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on September 07, 2011, 09:12:50 PM
… which would have been way longer and would have given the typesetter a cramp to have to write all the way out.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 07, 2011, 09:28:19 PM
I can understand the need to abbreviate in paper, where space is limited (though I wonder why they don't make the headlines smaller so they can fit in more), but on the internet? What reason is there for carrying over confusing headline conventions to the internet?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on September 07, 2011, 09:50:48 PM
Um . . .

Providing fodder for this thread?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on September 08, 2011, 09:00:49 AM
Um . . .

Providing fodder for this thread?
Winner!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on September 08, 2011, 07:53:45 PM
Jonathon, you don't read the New York Post much, do you.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 08, 2011, 07:56:19 PM
I try to avoid it as a general rule.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 22, 2011, 10:38:38 AM
2nd bacterial infection reported in Missouri baby (http://news.yahoo.com/2nd-bacterial-infection-reported-missouri-baby-180058725.html)

Without reading the article, how many babies have how many bacterial infections?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 22, 2011, 10:49:05 AM
I feel like I read something about similar constructions just recently, but I can't remember where it was. It can be read as the second infection in one baby or the second baby with an infection. Headline writers don't seem to pay much attention to the ambiguity.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 22, 2011, 11:06:41 AM
To my ear, only the first meaning (the wrong one) is easily deciphered.

Of course, the fact that the suspected culprit (baby formula) isn't in the headline at all is a bigger issue.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 22, 2011, 11:23:56 AM
Quote
To my ear, only the first meaning (the wrong one) is easily deciphered.

The condensed nature of headlinese certainly doesn't help.

Quote
Of course, the fact that the suspected culprit (baby formula) isn't in the headline at all is a bigger issue.

True. Something like "Formula Suspected in Infant Infections" would have been better.

And here's the link (http://literalminded.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/new-data-points/) I was thinking of. The relevant part is about halfway down, in the part about the Duggars.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 22, 2011, 12:11:37 PM
Something like "Formula Suspected in Infant Infections" would have been better.
Exactly. They should hire you!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 22, 2011, 12:18:57 PM
I appreciate the thought, but heaven forbid I ever work in journalism.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on December 22, 2011, 12:43:49 PM
I appreciate the thought, but heaven forbid I ever work in journalism.
Heaven hereby forbids you to ever work in journalism!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 22, 2011, 01:29:52 PM
I appreciate the thought, but heaven forbid I ever work in journalism.
I hear and understand.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 22, 2011, 06:56:33 PM
Here's another good option: "Wal-Mart pulls formula after baby dies in Missouri" (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=18592290&title=wal-mart-pulls-formula-after-baby-dies-in-missouri).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 22, 2011, 07:32:22 PM
Although I see no reference to the second baby in that one.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 22, 2011, 07:39:51 PM
True, but it got all the other important points.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 22, 2011, 09:11:37 PM
True. Arguably, that was the main point of the first article, which seemed to assume everyone already knew about baby #1. Stupid assumption, of course.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 22, 2011, 10:13:52 PM
Lots of articles seem to make that kind of assumption. I frequently find myself lost when an article assumes you already know all the previous facts and just introduces a few new ones. Then I have to decide whether it's worth my time to track down an older article that will give me the beginning of the story.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 22, 2011, 10:31:25 PM
Lots of articles seem to make that kind of assumption.
The better ones at least link to the earlier articles, but yeah, PITA.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 28, 2011, 10:49:47 PM
Third time's the charm? (http://news.yahoo.com/oklahoma-baby-3rd-sickened-rare-bacteria-172742823.html) This one is definitely better.
Quote
Oklahoma baby is 3rd sickened by rare bacteria
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on December 29, 2011, 05:14:23 AM
How many babies have to suffer just so we learn to write well? ;)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 29, 2011, 07:54:20 AM
I knew someone was going to go there.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on January 26, 2012, 03:12:10 PM
Why Evangelicals Don't Like Mormons (http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/why-evangelicals-dont-like-mormons/?hp).

Quote
it’s important to consider the often antagonistic skepticism that many evangelicals have of Mr. Romney’s brand of Protestantism: Mormonism.
Protestantism? I have never heard of Mormonism referred to as a protestant sect. The label does not reasonably fit Mormonisms origins or doctrine.

Also, Romney's Mormonism is an issue because Evangelicals are jealous of our growth? Please. If nothing else, it's because Evangelicals are more aware (even if they may be more mistaken in some cases) now of our Mormonism's distinctive beliefs.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on January 26, 2012, 03:47:06 PM
It's not protestant, but I'm OK with the article phrasing it that way. It makes sense in the way they recount it. But I would have said "Mr. Romney's brand of Christianity." We've actually got just as much in common with Catholics and Orthodox Christians as we do with Protestants.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on January 26, 2012, 03:47:44 PM
Also, I would like to report that the most recent issue of National Geographic used the word temblor. I may have to resign myself to fate.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 26, 2012, 04:00:51 PM
Protestantism? I have never heard of Mormonism referred to as a protestant sect.
That surprises me. Not that you disagree with the label; that you haven't heard it before.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on January 26, 2012, 04:18:54 PM
Protestantism? I have never heard of Mormonism referred to as a protestant sect.
That surprises me. Not that you disagree with the label; that you haven't heard it before.
My protestant school certainly didn't classify us under the label.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 26, 2012, 04:21:25 PM
https://www.google.com/search?q=mormon+protestant
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on January 26, 2012, 04:28:37 PM
Virtually all those hits if they give an answer say no. The one yes I got at a glance was a Mormon arguing we are protestant.

Maybe I'm just unique, but I've never heard it, even from the less intelligent.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 26, 2012, 04:35:48 PM
I've heard it, but I disagree with the characterization.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 26, 2012, 04:51:21 PM
That wasn't the only article about Mormons in the New York Times this week (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/dining/a-new-generation-redefines-mormon-cuisine.html?_r=1&ref=dining).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 26, 2012, 05:29:06 PM
I've heard it, but I disagree with the characterization.
I don't agree with it either. But I'm pretty sure it was my vague understanding as a teenager -- that there's the Catholics, and everyone else is Protestants. Of the latter, lots and lots of subgroups. Mormons were in there, somewhere or other. (And the main reason I even knew about Mormons at all was OSC.)

I didn't come to that understanding in a vacuum, and from conversations with other non-Christians (and some Catholics, actually), it's not an uncommon perception.

I'm not saying it's accurate. Just that it's common.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 26, 2012, 05:32:58 PM
*nods*
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on January 27, 2012, 08:37:26 AM
That wasn't the only article about Mormons in the New York Times this week (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/dining/a-new-generation-redefines-mormon-cuisine.html?_r=1&ref=dining).

This was my favorite article of life. :wub:
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 27, 2012, 08:47:37 PM
I'd classify Mormonism as restorationist.  I believe Protestantism holds that Catholicism is in need of reform, not fundamentally broken.  Though I don't know that many Protestant sects are dedicated to said reform.  It's confusing.  It seems like there was some kind of summit about 5 years ago clarifying the relationship of grace and works.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 27, 2012, 08:59:53 PM
I watched an A&E Biography of the Kellogg brother on Netflix.  It was an interesting confluence of those articles.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on January 30, 2012, 04:35:04 PM
An editorial in the WP about Mormonism (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-mormon-church-in-need-of-reform/2012/01/27/gIQA3s44aQ_story.html?sub=AR) and it being in need of reform. I probably should just leave it alone, but I'm still fuming about it. Part of me does feel real sadness if their case was indeed handled that way, but there's another skeptical part of me that is dubious, as his descriptions of my faith do not fit in many places with my own. Specifically the treatment of ex-mormons.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 31, 2012, 08:45:15 AM
Quote
The church I was raised in values unquestioning obedience over critical thinking.
False.  The doctrine is that critical thinking is necessary to obtaining spiritual guidance.  I'm not great with scripture cites, but the one about Oliver Cowdery wanting to help translate the Book of Mormon is cited all the time.  I do think people who are not intuitive decision makers can struggle with this concept.  They either don't see it as a valid way to make decisions, or they may be constituting the inflexible elements in the church that alienate others.

Quote
But I struggled after realizing that Mormonism’s claims about anthropology, history and other subjects contradict reason and science.
  It may be that this person is just older than me, but the church does not hold to specific interpretations of such fields.  This person's experience may lack the salting of fact I got as an adolescent, that archaeology seldom supports a "Panama as narrow neck of land, Missississippi as River Sidon" geography.  My mother told me a few wacky things over the years, but I'm pretty grateful she majored in Anthropology while I was growing up.

Quote
It also stifles efforts to openly question church pronouncements, labeling such behavior as satanic.
Uh, What?  Satanic maybe in a particularly Mormon sense of just another spirit child of God who was consumed by hubris.  But no, we don't think they need to be exorcised.  Pfft.

Quote
Critics of Mormonism include geneticists, Egyptologists and even the Smithsonian Institution
  I'm glad to know the author still feels reverence for something in this world.  I was starting to thing she was just a general purpose iconoclast.

Quote
For example, mainstream Mormons banned polygamy in 1890 to obtain Utah’s statehood, but they continue to perform temple ceremonies that “seal” one man to multiple women in the hereafter.
  Way to compress a very complex subject into a really misleading sentence.  Case in point would be a man can be sealed to each wife he was married to in this life where a prior wife died.  President Hinckley's father had 3 wives who died.  All will be sealed to him.  It is not the church's practice to just let me get sealed to women for the purpose of being polygamists in the afterlife.  The only way this woman's nightmare scenario was likely is if she were contemplating marrying a widower, or if she is so jealous she is afraid her husband might marry someone after she herself dies.  And there is a sect of Mormonism dedicated to this exact problem, so... what?

Quote
Those whose spouses leave the church are sometimes encouraged to get divorced and remarry a faithful Latter-day Saint.
  Wow.  I'm not saying it never happened, but I think it's pretty tacky, and it goes directly against Paul's counsel.

Quote
Many gay Mormons have been driven to suicide, deeply conflicted about whether acting on their sexuality is, as the church teaches, a sin.
  This is sad, but it's also true of gay Catholics, Jews, Baptists, any other sect that holds to the scriptures as the word of God and believe that God has the authority to issue suggestions on moral behavior. 

Quote
Mormonism needs a Luther of its own.
  We had one.  Joseph Smith's wife Emma.  The Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) already has democratic governorship and a "nuanced" relationship with the historical record (that is, their assertion that Joseph Smith never taught polygamy has not borne scrutiny, and they have gotten over it.) 

Mormons do need to learn to be charitable toward others, especially ex-Mormons (for whatever reason.)  I had an experience last summer of running into a recent apostate with my impressionable children in tow, but I think they can more easily deal with a few ideas than if I had depersonalized them in order to dismiss their ideas.  I hope, anyway.

Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 31, 2012, 09:55:25 AM
I think a lot of what happened in this case is the person didn't attend a lot of church once they got out of the youth program (certainly likely if they hit the skids when they got to college).  That would certainly produce a very different view of Mormonism from what you've experienced, one where obedience is valued over gaining personal experience, and one where the church's main function is to give people social validation and where the most important consequence of straying is the withholding of that.  

It is something that distresses me about the youth program, but I guess the chance that someone slips between the cracks between youth and adulthood as a reason to make the youth program tougher doesn't make sense.  It's why young men are expected to go on missions and young women are hoped to marry or go on missions.  People for whom none of these happen do face long odds on a relationship with the church as a functional adult.  

My visiting teachers talked about this last week, about how to bridge the Young Women and Relief Society experiences.  (One of them has a daughter who is a senior and she hopes she'll get on the bus when she goes away to a student ward.)  Part of the problem is that there are almost no younger women in our Relief Society.  I feel like a kid in there, and I'm over 40.  Most of the non elderly are in primary and young women.  Some of the elderly are as well, and I think that could be part of "grafting" the older generation to the younger. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on January 31, 2012, 10:42:27 AM
If I did not believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, I would consider Mormonism to be Protestant, but in denial about that fact.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on January 31, 2012, 06:08:56 PM
An excellent (http://ifeellikeschrodingerscat.blogspot.com/2012/01/leaving-lds-cult-of-false-expectations.html) blog response to my previously linked WP article.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on February 01, 2012, 08:57:54 AM
One more of Sheffield's points I would respond to is:
Quote
Since Mormonism is highly centralized, without the local doctrinal flexibility that exists in Judaism and many Christian churches, I had no place to live a moderated, reformed existence.
Also, in other churches we do not expect all members to serve as what others would call ministry.  Because we only have lay ministry, all members need to have a correct understanding of Gospel Principles and an independent ability to seek inspiration and get answers to their questions.  This is not a conformity enforced from on high, but a uniformity generated from the practical application of doctrines through service.  

That guy's response is really good too.  Expectations are false faith.

P.S.  The "This is my Doctrine" book looks awesome.  At first I was like "Hmmm."  But the it explains that he traces the evolution of theology not for 1830 but from Adam. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Dobie on February 01, 2012, 12:17:15 PM
Because we only have lay ministry...

Is that because of all the sects?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on February 02, 2012, 10:53:11 AM
I was morbidly curious as to what you would have to offer this discussion.

You did not disappoint.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on February 09, 2012, 01:58:00 PM
Link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ethics-reform-bill-to-ban-insider-trading-by-congress-members-executive-branch-passed-by-house/2012/02/09/gIQAV3MS1Q_story.html?hpid=z2).

Quote
Cantor nixed a provision that would have required a burgeoning K Street industry of consultants who glean inside information about legislative proposals, then alert their clients — hedge funds and other investment houses — about the likely outcome so they can buy or sell their stakes in advance.

There's a verb missing somewhere in that mess isn't there?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 09, 2012, 02:04:50 PM
Yup. Would have required them to what?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on February 10, 2012, 03:02:03 PM
The provision would have required such an industry. I don't know why one would write a provision requiring such a thing, though.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: The Genuine on March 27, 2012, 08:58:17 AM
Quote from: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/01/news/la-heb-prescription-drug-overdose-deaths-20111101
Overdose deaths from abuse of prescription painkillers in the U.S. now outnumber deaths involving heroin and cocaine combined, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.


(Which is why I prefer a good speedball to an 800mg ibuprofen any day.)


In all seriousness, I think that article should've been written something like "now outnumber combined deaths involving heroin and cocaine."  I don't think the combination of the two drugs at once (a speedball) is what they meant.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 27, 2012, 04:49:52 PM
Skeptical judges are skeptical (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/27/us-usa-healthcare-court-idUSBRE82L1CJ20120327).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 27, 2012, 04:53:17 PM
In related news, haters gonna hate.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 27, 2012, 04:59:09 PM
Not journalism, but I saw a job listing that included benefits for full time employees.  It went something like: full time medical benefits, full time dental benefits, full time travel benefits . . .


But my eyes, scanning lightly over the copy, lit on "full time travel benefits", and my brain misplaced an (understood) hyphen, so I read that, instead of the job offering "full-time travel benefits", they were offering "full time-travel benefits".  How cool would it be to go back in time to before your co-worker stank up the bathroom and place an "out of order" sign on the door so that they'd go stink up the bathroom on the other side of the building instead.  That's a perq worth keeping a job over!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 27, 2012, 05:43:32 PM
Full time-travel benefits would be awesome.

Also, I like that you spell it "perq", even though Chrome's spellchecker apparently does not.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on March 27, 2012, 08:37:51 PM
Gotta watch out for those part-time medical benefits . . .
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 27, 2012, 09:18:21 PM
There are arguments before the Supremes about that right now.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on March 30, 2012, 05:25:24 PM
Think it over... think it over...
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on June 04, 2012, 10:03:28 PM
From here (http://news.yahoo.com/nearly-half-americans-believe-creationism-212000630.html).

Quote
The poll also indicated that seven out of ten of those who attended religious services regularly were more likely to hold creationist views.

Really?  So seven out of ten were more likely?  How much more likely?  More likely than what?  Than who?  And what were the other 30% likely to do?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 04, 2012, 10:17:15 PM
I'm not a stats person by any means, but that's . . . a really weird way to put it. Usually you see things like "Those who attend religious services regularly were x% more likely to hold creationist views." As you said, that just raises a lot more questions about how much more likely they are, who they're compared to, and what everyone else is likely to believe.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on June 04, 2012, 11:36:20 PM
It's not the best sentence, but the rest of the paragraph does explain -- to the best that sort of poll can. Gallup polls generally ask very limited questions, so you won't get the kind of detailed statistical breakdown you're talking about.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 07, 2012, 08:04:14 AM
From the front page of today's New York Times:

Human Hand Found in Drought Conditons


Eww!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 07, 2012, 09:48:11 AM
I love Headlinese. It's just like English, but with about ten times as much ambiguity.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 07, 2012, 12:17:00 PM
Was it my last post that changed your mind?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 07, 2012, 12:43:31 PM
I was mostly being sarcastic. Usually headlinese is just annoying, but in this instance it actually was delightful.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on August 08, 2012, 08:32:20 AM
Gu Kai Lai (http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/07/world/asia/china-bo-gu-kailai-profile/index.html?hpt=hp_c4), China's 'Jackie Kennedy'.

Or...China's Gu Kai Lai? From the article,

Quote
Ambitious and outgoing, Gu typified the international outlook of the second generation of China's political elite. She has even been described by some as the "Jackie Kennedy of China."
And by "some" you mean the author of the article. Near as I can tell, the only similarities both women share is marriage to a politician. I've never heard her described that way by anybody. Then in the *very* next paragraph.

Quote
Gu and her husband were both descendents of China's revolutionary heros -- Gu from Major-General Gu Jingsheng, a prominent revolutionary military figure, and Bo from Bo Yibo, considered one of the "eight immortals" of the revolution that created modern China.
Here's the part where you tell us how the two Kennedys or at least one of them, were descended from the American equivalent of a 'prominent revolutionary military figure'. Thus helping the nickname make sense.

I don't know how this journalist gets paid. The article basically states what has been old news for months. The only thing new is this disquieting bit,

Quote
"Gu told investigators everything she could remember and, as for those accusations about which she couldn't remember clearly, she asked the investigators to go ahead and write up anything they'd like to," the source told the paper.

Bwuh!?

edit: I guess what galls me is that the nickname 'China's Jackie Kennedy' doesn't make sense, unless you just assume all outwardly charismatic female spouses of politicians are Jackie Kennedys. But that slant on the article doesn't provide *any* useful context or information for knowing who Gu is, or what she did.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on August 08, 2012, 04:41:30 PM
From the front page of today's New York Times:

Human Hand Found in Drought Conditons


Eww!

That happened to me once, but I can recommend a really nice lotion.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 07, 2012, 11:33:20 AM
This article (http://t.co/chOYp3cS) is above the fold on the front page of BYU's student newspaper. It's gone from a daily to a weekly paper, and this gushing piece of boosterism is the top story?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on September 08, 2012, 10:47:45 AM
I'll say this -- they know their audience.

That's not to say that every BYU student does or should have warm fuzzies about Romney.  But on the "this is relevant to my interests and something that I'm glad I got to see" scale for the student body as a whole, I'd bet that this scores higher than most top stories.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 08, 2012, 11:50:41 AM
I won't argue that it's not relevant. I'm bothered by the shameless bias. Journalism is supposed to be more impartial than that.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on September 08, 2012, 12:33:40 PM
I won't argue that it's not relevant. I'm bothered by the shameless bias. Journalism is supposed to be more impartial than that.
Right, which is why we have opinion pieces, and articles.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on September 09, 2012, 07:24:13 AM
And the Daily Universe. ;)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on September 28, 2012, 08:49:31 AM
Link (http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-apple-tim-cook-apology-20120928,0,4208097.story).

"...the company's new feature that 3-D generates maps in 3-D."

If only this forum could 3-D generate an eye roll emoticon in 3-D.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 03, 2012, 01:25:35 PM
"Mile-high stakes for first presidential debate" (http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/03/14202234-mile-high-stakes-for-first-presidential-debate?lite)

"Mile-high"! Get it?! Because it's in Denver!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on October 03, 2012, 01:29:43 PM
Mile-high stakes, subterranean expectations.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 09, 2012, 02:44:12 PM
I don't know if this is exactly journalism, but I'm putting it here anyway. From CNET's current front page (I can't get a link to the actual bit of text):

Quote
If you're a MacBook Air owner, you probably don't want to clutter up your hard drive with a thousand pictures and videos and data. That's why this slim, light, well-designed external hard drive makes such a great companion.

Right, because who wants to actually put files on their hard drive? It's so much cooler to keep it pristine and put all your files on a portable hard drive, where it'll take longer to access them.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on October 09, 2012, 07:44:51 PM
That is weird.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on October 09, 2012, 08:28:29 PM
As I read the sentence I thought the proposed solution would be iCloud. How wrong I was.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 09, 2012, 08:33:23 PM
That is weird.

Yeah. Maybe it's a Mac user thing.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on October 12, 2012, 01:30:10 AM
That is weird.

Yeah. Maybe it's a Mac user thing.

Hey. I resemble that remark.

I just think it's a marketing thing. Marketing's job is to be wicked. It's like an ad I saw on facebook (no commentary on why they're marketing these things to me, please) that said "Positive pregnancy test? It's never too early to start buying maternity clothes!" I was like, "Um, I can think of some REALLY good reasons not to start buying maternity clothes when you're a month along and you're being horribly insensitive people by marketing like that."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on October 12, 2012, 08:12:57 AM
Quote
(no commentary on why they're marketing these things to me, please)
My guess, you're a mac user.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on October 22, 2012, 07:55:45 PM
From here (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/energy-department-spent-360-million-on-foreign-travel-vast-majority-by-contractors/2012/10/22/5d3dc8b8-1c5c-11e2-ad90-ba5920e56eb3_story.html).

Quote
The Energy Department’s inspector general has warned that the agency has not taken sufficient steps to control the travel costs of its contractors, which account for 85 percent of the $360 million the department spent on travel over the past six years.
Do tell me more about what percentage of the travel budget was taken up by traveling!

Quote
the cost-savings orders were not universally applied to contractors, the audit found. The department has a federal staff of 16,000 employees and 100,000 contractors in various department-funded labs, research centers and offices.
So 84% of the people working for you are taking up 85% of the travel budget? You don't say!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 30, 2012, 12:07:45 PM
This video (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/divers-carve-obama-romney-pumpkins-sea-17537927) has been showing up in the Google News top stories widget for about five days now. How on earth is this a top story?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on November 01, 2012, 05:51:55 AM
Carving a pumkin underwater would actually be pretty difficult. 

Still not a top story, of course.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on January 10, 2013, 11:45:35 PM
This one is actually pretty awesome (http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2013/01/10/fake-feces-to-treat-deadly-disease-scientists-find-they-can-just-make-sht-up/). The headline is particularly priceless.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 11, 2013, 08:08:05 AM
One of the things I enjoy about Scientific American is that they often have a sense of humor.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 11, 2013, 10:08:38 AM
I can't find a link to the story online, but the campus newspaper's current top story is "'Winter' semester lives up to its name". That's some top-notch, cutting-edge journalism there, folks. Winter semester certainly does live up to its name by starting in winter. Of course, what they really mean is that it's really cold, but that has nothing to do with the name of the season.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on January 11, 2013, 10:30:31 AM
I can't find a link to the story online, but the campus newspaper's current top story is "'Winter semester' lives up to its name". That's some top-notch, cutting-edge journalism there, folks. Winter semester certainly does live up to its name by starting in winter. Of course, what they really mean is that it's really cold, but that has nothing to do with the name of the season.
True story. If I had read that article while I was living in Malaysia, I would have had no clue what they meant.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: SteveRogers on January 11, 2013, 11:19:59 AM
Headlines are hard, you guys.  :P  (<--- Mostly joking.  Mostly.)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on January 11, 2013, 10:16:58 PM
One of the threats of global warming is that as the climate shifts we may have to abandon winter semester altogether.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on January 12, 2013, 09:28:42 AM
And then it would take even longer to graduate!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 14, 2013, 09:48:06 AM
I think we're technically in spring semester up here.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 14, 2013, 01:30:45 PM
Except for those schools on the quarter system, winter is most often a shortened or mini-semester (like summer, only more so).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 14, 2013, 01:32:24 PM
BYU has a sort of modified trimester system. The year is effectively split into three trimesters, but one of those is split into spring and summer terms.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 14, 2013, 01:33:54 PM
How bizarre. How many of those terms are required terms (to maintain full-time student status, for instance)?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 14, 2013, 01:35:41 PM
Just fall semester (late August or early September to mid-to-late December) and winter semester (early January to mid-to-late April).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 14, 2013, 01:38:54 PM
Ah. Then it's not so different from those that have fall, spring, and summer (which often has multiple sub-semesters), except for nomenclature.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 14, 2013, 01:46:37 PM
That makes sense. I'm not very familiar with other schools' term/semester/whatever systems, but it seemed like our winter semester corresponded to most other people's spring semester, as pooka said.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 14, 2013, 01:50:15 PM
Oh, is that what pooka meant?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 14, 2013, 01:53:33 PM
I think so, though I'm not sure if she's talking about the U of U or some other school.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on January 14, 2013, 07:15:00 PM
From the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/lance-armstrong-admits-doping-in-oprah-winfrey-interview-ap-reports/2013/01/14/a635a424-5eaf-11e2-9940-6fc488f3fecd_story.html?hpid=z1) (No edits other than emphasis from me).

Quote
The 21 / 2-hour interview will be edited to 90 minutes and aired on the OWN Network at 9 p.m.
So the 10.5 hour interview? Also, if they were saying 2 1/2 hour interview, is the hyphen necessary?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 14, 2013, 07:39:17 PM
The hyphen is still necessary; they just messed up the spacing. For this reason I hate numerical fractions in running text, unless they're done as proper case fractions, like ½.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 23, 2013, 02:44:00 PM
Yeah, our spring term is January to May, though the May is just exams, maybe, and graduation. 

The other day on KSL it said "Parents to be killed loved animals, each other."  I forget now if it had hyphens.  I was just so puzzled why they were described as "to be killed."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 23, 2013, 02:54:07 PM
Are you talking about this story (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865571076/Man-pregnant-woman-killed-when-car-slides-off-I-215-overpass.html?pg=all)? The headline is still terrible, but at least it's easier to parse.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on January 23, 2013, 06:26:37 PM
Man! I saw that headline and just could not figure it out. I'm glad they added the hyphens, at least.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on February 06, 2013, 06:09:22 PM
(http://i2.wp.com/www.criggo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/brieflydies.jpg)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 06, 2013, 06:23:48 PM
That's some really terrible justification, too.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on February 06, 2013, 06:41:09 PM
I briefly died once.

But I got better.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on February 07, 2013, 12:02:02 PM
Was there a tunnel and a bright light and a feeling of ineffable love that you somehow managed to eff about?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on February 07, 2013, 06:05:05 PM
Not that I recall.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on February 07, 2013, 09:44:26 PM
Quote
Feb. 15 fly-by will be the nearest recorded brush with a space rock — about the size of an office building — so large, scientists say.
I know it's not grammatically incorrect, but it jars me all the same.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 07, 2013, 09:58:51 PM
What exactly jars you? The awkwardly placed parenthetical set off in em dashes?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on February 08, 2013, 08:08:08 AM
What exactly jars you? The awkwardly placed parenthetical set off in em dashes?
Yes. I just don't see why it's necessary.

Why not "Scientists say Feb. 15's fly-by will be the nearest recorded brush with a space rock, which is about the size of an office building"?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 08, 2013, 08:45:51 AM
Because that might be good English, but it's bad Journalese.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 08, 2013, 02:45:59 PM
SFO cancellations cause of East Coast Snowstorm (http://www.sfgate.com/news/slideshow/SFO-cancellations-cause-of-East-Coast-Snowstorm-56492.php)

Apparently the San Francisco airport can control weather on the other side of the country.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on February 08, 2013, 03:08:04 PM
It's those damn unions again!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on February 20, 2013, 07:19:38 AM
From The Associated Press,
Quote
Under cross-examination by the defense, police Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha acknowledged that the witness who allegedly overheard the argument was 600 meters (yards) from Pistorius’ house, where the shooting occurred.

I know a yard and a meter are very close units of measurement, but why on earth are they just being used interchangeably in the article? In yards, it's actually 656. So why not say, "600 meters (about 650 yards)" in the article?

Or better yet, teach Americans the metric system (even along side the imperial one) so when they read any of the units, they are familiar with them.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on February 26, 2013, 04:00:09 PM
From cnn.com:

Quote
The U.S. Coast Guard has spent several hundreds of thousands of dollars since Sunday searching for a couple and two children who reportedly abandoned a 29-foot sailboat, saying the incident is "possibly a hoax."

Who said that about the incident and when did they say it? While they were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on March 03, 2013, 01:15:32 PM
Maybe that was the name of the sailboat.

If I ever get a 29 foot sailboat, I'm going to christen it "plausible deniability".  As insurance. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on March 11, 2013, 11:00:51 AM
"Childhood Obesity Needs Solved Now"
Nooooo...
(Title of the fifth film segment)
http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/films/main-films/Crisis
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 11, 2013, 11:43:05 AM
It's kind of surprising that no one would notice that. But I've found that people who use that construction are often unaware that they do and that it is often stigmatized by others.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Noemon on March 11, 2013, 06:10:30 PM
Are you talking about this story (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865571076/Man-pregnant-woman-killed-when-car-slides-off-I-215-overpass.html?pg=all)? The headline is still terrible, but at least it's easier to parse.
Bad headlines aside, that is incredibly tragic.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 11, 2013, 07:32:32 PM
Yeah.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on April 03, 2013, 01:21:42 PM
Just really bad display text cutoff, but people should be aware of these things:
"Deceased Mormon FBI agent continues to serve..."
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865577232/Deceased-Mormon-FBI-agent-continues-to-serve-with-spiritual-rescue.html

Okay.  I think I'm done reading news for today.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on April 17, 2013, 08:51:35 PM
From cnn.com

Quote
-- The "recipe" for the bombs ignited by pressure cookers can be found widely on the Internet.

-- In 2004, Homeland Security issued an advisory about pressure cooker bombs.

-- They are made by placing TNT or other explosives in a pressure cooker and attaching a blasting cap at the top, the advisory said. Pressure cooker bombs are made with readily available materials.

WHY THE H*LL do they publish things like this? "The bombs that killed a lot of people were easy to make and you can easily find out how. In fact, we'll explain it a little right here."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on May 01, 2013, 02:05:57 PM
Link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-germany-a-us-beer-invasion/2013/04/30/0d03f6e6-adf3-11e2-8bf6-e70cb6ae066e_story.html?hpid=z4).

"Almost 65 years after Allied planes flew Western supplies into blockaded Berlin, a new American import is arriving by air: craft beer."

What the what? It's like the journalist said, "Americans don't know anything about Germany, and the most recent event that *might* stand out in their minds involving US goods going to Germany is the Berlin Wall. I'll use that!"
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 01, 2013, 09:40:59 PM
Yay for lazy journalism templates!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 02, 2013, 02:19:06 PM
BYU's student paper, the Universe is apparently unsure of how to spell council and counsel, so they ended up splitting the difference.

(http://www.galacticcactus.com/images/0502131510a.jpg)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on May 03, 2013, 08:11:35 AM
A beautiful example of the flexibility of the English language as is evolves over time.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on May 04, 2013, 06:47:21 AM
A beautiful example of the flexibility of the English language as is evolves over time.
*snort* :D
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on May 21, 2013, 07:22:14 PM
The exception that proves the rule.

(http://i.imgur.com/m83OLw5.jpg)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 21, 2013, 07:37:47 PM
I'll give that one a pass.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on May 22, 2013, 07:05:29 AM
I like that one.  It's always nice when I can derive mirth from a traffic accident.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on May 29, 2013, 01:10:20 PM
I don't think anyone was killed, so is it okay that I'm still laughing?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on June 17, 2013, 08:19:27 PM
Yeah, we get the joke.  :rolleyes:

U.S. patent case climaxes with win for Canadian vibrator maker (http://news.yahoo.com/u-patent-case-climaxes-win-canadian-vibrator-maker-005603888.html)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on June 17, 2013, 09:04:19 PM
I don't rivka, please explain!

;)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on June 17, 2013, 09:12:09 PM
I'm done explaining things to you today.

*prim*
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 17, 2013, 09:25:00 PM
Yeah, we get the joke.  :rolleyes:

U.S. patent case climaxes with win for Canadian vibrator maker (http://news.yahoo.com/u-patent-case-climaxes-win-canadian-vibrator-maker-005603888.html)

Ugh. I bet the copy editors were high-fiving each other after that one.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on July 02, 2013, 06:36:55 AM
Man extremely critical after motorcycle accident on I-15 (http://www.ksl.com/?sid=25836183&nid=148)

I would be critical too. These things just shouldn't happen, and it was probably due to someone's ineptitude or negligence that it did!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on July 02, 2013, 06:14:37 PM
Are motorcyclists allowed in the HOV lane?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 02, 2013, 06:35:30 PM
Yes.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on July 02, 2013, 08:46:02 PM
Yes.
Even if they are riding individually?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 02, 2013, 09:09:04 PM
Yes. (http://www.udot.utah.gov/expresslanes/)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on July 03, 2013, 08:44:16 AM
Interesting. That's good to know.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 01, 2013, 03:04:00 PM
It makes sense.  You can fit a lot more motorcycles than automobiles into a given stretch of highway.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 01, 2013, 03:39:48 PM
I think it has more to do with low emissions in the case of motorcycles.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on August 01, 2013, 06:33:50 PM
Huh.  I've always been under the impression that their purpose is to increase the throughput of congested roadways, with lower pollution being an added bonus.

I suppose that for some people, those could easily be reversed.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 01, 2013, 10:50:29 PM
And this is why I hate the HOV lanes. I think they're trying to do several things at once and not doing any of them terribly well. I'm really not sure if the main purpose is to


Tonight we were on our way to a concert, and some idiot in a huge SUV decided to jump in front of us in the HOV lane to get out of a slowdown in the other lanes. I think they ignored the double white lines, and they certainly didn't think of the potentially dangerous speed differential between them and us.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on August 01, 2013, 11:57:31 PM
Chicago Tribune makes the best Internet mistake of the day (http://gizmodo.com/the-chicago-tribune-has-made-the-best-internet-mistake-964073520)

ETA: There's also a Q&A weith the editors responsible (http://gizmodo.com/q-a-with-the-chicago-tribune-editors-who-put-a-cat-on-t-968979032)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 02, 2013, 09:36:51 AM
"Let's make all of the homepages this, just for a day. It'd make things better."

 :D
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on August 05, 2013, 02:18:22 PM
I was going to post it in the fluffy kittens and rainbows thread, but I forgot. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on October 04, 2013, 11:36:00 AM
This isn't horribly written, but the ambiguity is funny:

"Anderson also said he would focus on paying down the city debt without raising taxes, maintaining services, listening to residents, and working with neighboring city leaders and state legislators to promote the best interests of the local community."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 04, 2013, 11:57:22 AM
Awesome. Where's that from?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on October 04, 2013, 12:22:23 PM
That community newspaper thing we got in the mail yesterday. It had a section introducing the candidates for the mayoral and city council races in Holladay and Cottonwood Heights (this one was for a mayoral candidate for Holladay).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 05, 2013, 04:03:07 PM
Check out this overwrought opening paragraph from Newsweek (http://www.newsweek.com/starbucks-aims-its-legal-cannon-bangkok-street-vendor-2029):

Quote
The sun in Bangkok doesn’t shine, it hates. High noon in the world’s hottest city hits like a trashcan lid in the face as heaving, pollution spewing traffic slaughters your breath. Money stays home, and people with just sense find shade. But men like Bung – a Thai street merchant with six children, overdue school payments, and one darkly mounting debt to a Thai loan shark – press into this withering heat, day after day. Driving a precariously strapped, bolted, taped, and jury-rigged motorcycle/café through Bangkok’s labyrinth of soot-covered souls, he sells coffee to survive. Most coffee sellers here worry about being hit by swerving taxis. Bung worries about being crushed by a lawsuit from Starbucks.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on November 05, 2013, 04:24:56 PM
The whole article is  :sarcasm:-worthy. For instance, the author clearly does not understand that any company that fails to defend its copyright risks losing it. Also, just because he's a "peasant" doesn't make it ok for him to use whatever intellectual property he wants.

I feel for him, but he's still in the wrong.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 07, 2013, 12:06:47 PM
I hadn't read the whole thing, but yeah, it's awful throughout. Where do these people learn to write?

Quote
When Bung’s response didn’t exist, . . .

When it didn't exist? When exactly was that? Did it exist at some point, and then it didn't anymore? How about "When Bung didn't respond"?

Maybe it feels a little unfair for a big, faceless corporation to go after a little street vendor, but it's not like Starbucks did anything wrong.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on November 07, 2013, 02:01:16 PM
Maybe it feels a little unfair for a big, faceless corporation to go after a little street vendor, but it's not like Starbucks did anything wrong.
Yup. And I agree with you on his serious mechanical flaws as well.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on November 07, 2013, 02:38:50 PM
Man, I'm glad my last name isn't Bung.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 07, 2013, 03:15:33 PM
Hear, hear. Even if I drank coffee, I don't think I'd drink it from a place called Starbungs. :sick:
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on November 20, 2013, 08:52:31 AM
Quote
The labyrinthine cemetery complex stretching for kilometers (miles) underneath northern Rome is known as the "Queen of the catacombs" …

Really? An unspecified length of kilometers is the same as an unspecified length of miles?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on November 20, 2013, 09:08:01 AM
Well, yes, actually. Not that x and y are equal, but it doesn't say they are.

In the case of both units, they are being provided for scale (not meters but km; not feet or yards but miles).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 20, 2013, 09:19:37 AM
I think journalists often run a macro to find instances of "x kilometers", do a conversion, and insert "(y miles)". But obviously it wasn't written to ignore instances where "kilometers" isn't preceded by a number.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on November 20, 2013, 09:30:08 AM
I think journalists often run a macro to find instances of "x kilometers", do a conversion, and insert "(y miles)". But obviously it wasn't written to ignore instances where "kilometers" isn't preceded by a number.

That's what I was thinking. No way a conscious person went in and was like "Oh, the Americans aren't going to understand what kilometers are."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 20, 2013, 10:04:16 AM
No way a conscious person went in and was like "Oh, the Americans aren't going to understand what kilometers are."

But a journalist might have.

zing!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on November 20, 2013, 02:46:40 PM
:D
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 21, 2013, 04:06:00 PM
I usually make fun of journalists, but the first sentence of this article (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/57153692-90/appointed-council-county-election.html.csp) is pretty great.

Quote
In the Wasatch County town of Wallsburg, the city employee responsible for oversight of elections brought new meaning to the job description by overlooking the election altogether.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on November 21, 2013, 04:57:03 PM
That is a great play on the word.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on November 21, 2013, 09:45:20 PM
You know, it really is.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on November 23, 2013, 09:17:24 AM
That was awesome.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on December 22, 2013, 07:47:34 PM
"Obama hopes for trouble - free hawaii vacation"

It is an en dash, but just imagine if you got that one wrong. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 23, 2013, 09:13:10 AM
It should just be a hyphen, not an en dash.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on December 23, 2013, 12:18:03 PM
Oh.  My keyboard just has one button that serves as either.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 23, 2013, 12:47:27 PM
Yeah, keyboards don't have keys for dashes. You have to use some unwieldy combination like Alt+0150 to get an en dash on a Windows machine.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on January 27, 2014, 11:57:50 AM
"Onewheel Is One Wheel Away From Being a Hoverboard (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2014/01/onewheel-board/)"

No, it's not. As one commenter put it, it's one wheel away from being a board on the ground.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on January 27, 2014, 05:39:04 PM
Yeah, keyboards don't have keys for dashes. You have to use some unwieldy combination like Alt+0150 to get an en dash on a Windows machine.

I hate that Word changes my hyphens to dashes automatically. I keep forgetting to hunt that feature down and kill it with fire.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 27, 2014, 09:24:26 PM
I never care.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on January 27, 2014, 10:46:11 PM
I greatly appreciate that feature and use it deliberately often.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on March 01, 2014, 12:51:48 PM
Quote
Stahre has an answer to Jackman's question: The state examined the mothers' medical records, which revealed, among other things, the women's home addresses.

By the address, epidemiologists can learn a mother's water source, whether she lives near an agricultural area and whether she took folic acid early in pregnancy, which helps prevent neural tube defects.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 01, 2014, 06:39:19 PM
No one in my old neighborhood ever took folic acid early in pregnancy.  It just wasn't the thing to do.  Over on the north side of town, however, everyone took the stuff, all the time.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on March 08, 2014, 08:05:00 AM
Quote from: http://m.wesh.com/news/mbi-shuts-down-orlando-spa-that-sits-between-two-churches-accused-of-selling-sex/24864570
MBI shuts down Orlando spa that sits between two churches accused of selling sex

Part of me thinks this kind of thing has to be on purpose because someone thinks it's funny.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 08, 2014, 08:51:20 AM
Oh dear.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 08, 2014, 06:38:22 PM
Since they can't sell indulgences any more, they needed to find something they could sell to raise funds.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on March 31, 2014, 07:32:59 AM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BkDt2I5IEAA9mFF.jpg)

Dear Digg: No. Not even close.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on April 05, 2014, 03:03:56 PM
Looks like it's a bit taller than the Eiffel Tower. Which is even scarier. They should have said that.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 05, 2014, 03:46:37 PM
A bit taller? It's almost 70 percent taller.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 16, 2014, 09:24:54 AM
From Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/13/1291688/-NC-woman-calls-police-on-homeless-Jesus):

Quote
So a neighbor outraged a taker dare get a bit of rest in her neghborhood called the police in order to have them remove the unsightly vagrant from her neghborhood. [spelling sic]

And here's a blog post explaining what it means (http://mr-verb.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-mother-of-all-garden-path-sentences.html).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on April 17, 2014, 12:02:16 AM
 :wacko:
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on April 17, 2014, 07:59:57 AM
It took me about five reads, but I got there, I think. I haven't followed the link yet, but it's:

So a neighbor ([who was] outraged [that] a taker [would] dare [to] get a bit of rest in her neighborhood) called the police . . .

Right?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on April 17, 2014, 08:02:33 AM
Okay, read the link, and yeah, I got it right. But the first sentence is weird too. I didn't understand at first that their referred to a church. Why not its?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 17, 2014, 08:13:57 AM
It's not uncommon to refer to companies and organizations with they, but in this case it doesn't seem to work well. I think it's because they're talking about the church as a building, not really as an organization.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on April 17, 2014, 10:22:41 AM
I had no trouble understanding that sentence on the first read.  I'm not sure what that says about me. Probably nothing good.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 17, 2014, 10:46:52 AM
 <_<
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on July 25, 2014, 07:25:14 PM
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1vpYGyd5UGw/U9AS-PLhMhI/AAAAAAAAkzk/kMFiN-M9brc/w842-h391-no/Screenshot_2014-07-23-12-04-00%257E2.jpg)

Go ahead, parse that. I dare you.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on July 25, 2014, 07:29:08 PM
Holy crap I about had a heart attack until I read the thread title and then reread the headline! :o
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on July 25, 2014, 07:41:47 PM
I can't believe I forgot to mention that here! It really is kind of mind-blowingly bad, even by journalistic standards.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on July 25, 2014, 07:48:47 PM
It so is.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 10, 2014, 02:31:17 PM
Quote
Heavy police presence in the 2900 block of I Street in Midland this morning piqued the interest of neighbors and passerbyers and it was a peek that started the whole ordeal. (http://cbs7.com/multimedia/article_7805c2dc-3888-11e4-943d-0017a43b2370.html?TNNoMobile)

Oh my gosh please stop.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on September 10, 2014, 04:41:11 PM
Seriously.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on September 12, 2014, 12:28:50 PM
"Family of man fatally shot by police looking for answers" (http://fox13now.com/2014/09/11/family-of-man-fatally-shot-by-police-looking-for-answers/)

Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on October 02, 2014, 06:26:16 PM
If I hear anyone else use the phrase "boots on the ground," my brain is going to blow up.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on October 02, 2014, 09:03:30 PM
Because all those boots smudge up the line in the sand?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on October 10, 2014, 02:23:19 PM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BzgOP0BIgAA-6I-.jpg)

Man, tumors are MEAN...
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on October 10, 2014, 09:43:59 PM
Wow. That's an amazing level of misleading.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 20, 2014, 09:38:01 AM
This headline has broken my parser.

Quote
Ebola Fear Stalks Home Hunt for Quarantined Now Released (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-10-19/ebola-fears-stymie-home-quest-for-quarantined-in-dallas)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on October 20, 2014, 11:56:25 AM
They fixed the article title but the URL lives forever.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 12, 2014, 08:34:33 PM
This isn't the journalist's fault, but it seemed like this quote fit here anyway:

Quote
What gives this away that it was a meth lab is the fact it's a meth lab. (http://www.ksl.com/?sid=32325686&nid=148&title=byu-student-accused-of-having-meth-lab-claims-it-was-soap&fm=home_page&s_cid=topstory)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on November 12, 2014, 08:49:21 PM
Good grief.

My favorite quote from the article:
Quote
"I know that the same chemicals used to make meth are same ones you use to crystallize these herbal extractions, which is a totally legitimate thing."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 12, 2014, 08:58:00 PM
He's a lawyer AND a chemist!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on November 12, 2014, 09:32:14 PM
A very, very bad chemist. :P
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 13, 2014, 08:03:45 AM
And if he thinks that defense is going to fly, he's probably not a very good lawyer either.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on November 13, 2014, 09:29:33 AM
Also true.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on November 13, 2014, 10:06:25 AM
Making soap out of decongestants, a totally legitimate thing.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 13, 2014, 10:12:05 AM
And, I must stress, perfectly legal.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on November 14, 2014, 11:56:54 AM
Washington Post headline: Uranus might be full of surprises (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/11/14/uranus-might-be-full-of-surprises/?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost)

Well played, WP...
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 14, 2014, 12:29:40 PM
I was just coming here to post that.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on November 14, 2014, 08:42:46 PM
Quote
Cazier has a page on mormon.org as part of the "and I'm a Mormon" campaign


This made me giggle.  I've seen the motorcycle one, so now I'm picturing a billboard with this guy standing in front of his meth lab.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 14, 2014, 08:47:19 PM
 ;D
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on November 16, 2014, 08:45:28 AM
now I'm picturing a billboard with this guy standing in front of his meth lab.
Someone with photophop skillz should make this happen.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on December 03, 2014, 01:36:34 PM
New York Times: Texas University Missing Brains From Medical Collection (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/us/university-texas-austin-brains-missing.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 06, 2014, 09:32:36 PM
From a story about a cat with two faces that died at the age of 15 (http://www.ksl.com/?sid=32633653&nid=711&fm=most_popular&s_cid=popular-1):

Quote
Janus cats almost never survive, and most have congenital defects.

Yup. Having two faces is definitely a congenital defect. (Also, survive what? Birth? Life?)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on January 27, 2015, 07:51:58 AM
Best New Yorker correction ever in article about Michael Moorcock (http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/anti-tolkien)

Scroll to the bottom...
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 06, 2015, 02:50:13 PM
Patent ‘Death Squad’ Rules Owners Denounce Upheld by U.S. Court (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-04/patent-death-squad-rules-owners-denounce-upheld-by-u-s-court)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: BlackBlade on February 06, 2015, 09:26:39 PM
I cannot even figure out what it might mean with just that to go on.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on February 07, 2015, 08:21:43 AM
I figured it out, but it took a few seconds.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on February 09, 2015, 10:02:25 AM
Perhaps it's a strategy to get people to read the article just to figure out what the hell the headline is supposed to mean. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 09, 2015, 10:13:28 AM
I still can't parse it.

And I'm having troubles with the body of the article too.

Quote
A U.S. appeals court upheld rules that make it easier for companies like Google Inc. and Apple Inc. to get rid of worrisome patent litigation on the cheap.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in an appeal involving a patent for a speed limit indicator, took its first look at reviews by the Patent and Trademark Office. The decision Wednesday may benefit many companies not directly in the case by upholding rules that patent owners say make it too easy to get their legal protections tossed and led a former judge to dub the agency board a “death squad” for patents.

The first paragraph makes it sound like it's good for google and Apple—now it's easier for them to get rid of worrisome patent litigation.

But the second paragraph says that it's upholding rules that may lead to some companies losing legal protection for their patents. Isn't that a bad thing? And isn't that the opposite of what the first paragraph said?

Also, what's the agency board? There's been no mention of an agency or a board before. Is it the Patent and Trademark Office?

I guess I could try to muscle through the rest and figure it out, but I've already wasted enough brainpower on it. Trying to parse it is making my brain do this:

(http://cdn.gotraffic.net/business/public/images/bbiz404.3020e8d7.gif)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on February 09, 2015, 12:02:31 PM
"Patent ‘Death Squad’ Rules Owners Denounce Upheld by U.S. Court"

Patent 'Death Squad' is an entity.

It makes rules:

"Patent ‘Death Squad’ Rules"

Patent owners denounce the rules:

"Patent ‘Death Squad’ Rules Owners Denounce"

The court upholds the rules:

"Patent ‘Death Squad’ Rules Owners Denounce Upheld by U.S. Court"

I think patents-that-should-never-have-been-granted both benefit and hurt lots of companies, including big players, which is not to defend the article which is terrible.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 09, 2015, 12:10:01 PM
I'm still not seeing how that is a coherent and grammatical sentence, even in headlinese. You can't have two separate verbs in one sentence. Also, I still don't get the whole "patent 'death squad' rules owners" bit. Is that one big noun phrase or two separate phrases?

Wait. WAIT. I think I may have gotten it.

"[The] Patent 'Death Squad' Rules [That] [Patent?] Owners Denounce [Are] Upheld by U.S. Court"

Is that right?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on February 09, 2015, 12:38:36 PM
Yep, that's what they were going for, as best I can tell.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on February 09, 2015, 02:30:57 PM
And judging from the bit  of article you quoted the patent owners that denounce the rules are the small patent holders whose claims are shot down by the big guys.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 09, 2015, 02:45:12 PM
*lightbulb*
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on March 07, 2015, 07:28:50 PM
Did anyone else see the "WBS attempts to picket Leonard Nimoy's wedding" headline?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on March 08, 2015, 07:10:43 PM
As a general rule, I treat all news about the WB Church the way I treat the unholy child of spam + troll.

I ignore it.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 08, 2015, 07:38:55 PM
All I know is that they wanted to protest it and couldn't because they didn't know where it was.

Why they'd want to protest it is beyond me.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on March 08, 2015, 08:42:55 PM
I expect pooka was noting that they got funeral and wedding confused.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 08, 2015, 09:13:20 PM
Oh, I didn't catch that.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on March 08, 2015, 09:15:37 PM
It took me a couple read-throughs to see it.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Porter on March 09, 2015, 06:09:28 AM
Quote
Why they'd want to protest it is beyond me.

Tolls don't need a reason.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 08, 2015, 09:46:20 AM
This isn't so much the journalist's fault, but I still thought it was funny.

Quote
"[The boat] has little pointers at the front with electroshock. It stuns the fish. It doesn't kill them. They get stunned and they float to the surface and we can collect them," Churchill said.

In that scenario, the fish would then go to a raptor rehabilitation center as feed.

link (http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/04/07/thousands-of-goldfish-taking-over-teller-lake/25435855/)

Oh, good! They're not going to kill the fish—they'll just stun them and then relocate them so they can be eaten by birds.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on April 08, 2015, 10:05:02 AM
I'm picturing raptors with addiction problems.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on April 09, 2015, 08:27:33 PM
They tried to make me go to rehab, and I said, "KEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on April 09, 2015, 08:27:58 PM
That was an eagle sound, for those who are interested.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Noemon on April 10, 2015, 05:35:49 PM
Seriously? (http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/business/ge-sell-of-ge-capital-assets-wont-impact-kettering/nkrQX/)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 10, 2015, 07:07:30 PM
Pronouncing "sale" as "sell" is a very Utah thing to do. I didn't realize it happened in Ohio too.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Noemon on April 10, 2015, 08:30:20 PM
I see it once in a while here; I generally assume the writers are Utah transplants.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 10, 2015, 09:28:22 PM
Well, it's not exclusively a Utah thing. I think it occurs in Texas and some other parts of the South. I just hadn't heard of it in the Midwest before.

Edit: I guess I'm wrong about that. Wikipedia says that it's also found "sporadically in other Southern states and in the Midwest and West. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/#Fell.E2.80.93fail_merger)"
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on April 26, 2015, 07:03:32 PM
It took me a couple read-throughs to see it.
I didn't even see it, having forgotten.  I totally read it as "solemn event marking a passage, which may or may not be held in a house of worship."
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 07, 2015, 12:45:02 PM
This is so weird. This article (http://www.ksl.com/?sid=34537915&nid=1268&title=how-to-know-what-your-child-is-really-texting&s_cid=queue-15) was obviously written fifteen years ago, but it wasn't published until today.

Quote
Acronyms are becoming rapidly more popular across the digital world and, while they may initially seem harmless, can present a very real danger in the lives of today's youth.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on May 15, 2015, 03:15:33 PM
So apparently there is a sect of Mormonism called AgReserve.  I wonder what their policy on sabbath observance is.  http://rt.com/usa/mormon-church-florida-half-billion-459/
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 19, 2015, 11:43:25 AM
How's this (http://fox59.com/2015/05/18/we-dont-want-you-in-our-yearbook-high-school-student-with-special-needs-excluded-from-yearbook/) for a misleading headline?

Quote
‘We don’t want you in our yearbook’ High school student with special needs excluded from yearbook

It sounds horrible, but it turns out that nobody actually said that. The mother of the student said, “It’s kind of like they singled out the students who were in the transition program and said, ‘We don’t want you in our yearbook.’”
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on May 19, 2015, 01:34:42 PM
And the article isn't slanted at alllll.  :sarcasm:

(I would be fairly sympathetic, but the way it is presented actually makes me less so.)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 25, 2015, 09:52:37 PM
Who was doing what now? (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/suspect-being-chased-by-cops-calls-911-to-get-rid-of-them/)

Quote
The California Highway Patrol was chasing the suspect late Sunday night, driving down three separate highways, jeopardizing other drivers with the police chopper on his tail, but refusing to pull over. Eventually, he crashed into an SUV, injuring the other driver.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Nighthawk on June 09, 2015, 07:25:24 AM
This has been reported a lot, but it's appropriate for here: Amphibious pitcher makes debut (https://twitter.com/NeillWoelk/status/608018850760650752/photo/1)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 19, 2015, 08:21:59 AM
Who was doing what now? (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/suspect-being-chased-by-cops-calls-911-to-get-rid-of-them/)

Quote
The California Highway Patrol was chasing the suspect late Sunday night, driving down three separate highways, jeopardizing other drivers with the police chopper on his tail, but refusing to pull over. Eventually, he crashed into an SUV, injuring the other driver.

Because it's the cops fault that he's driving too fast.  And using a phone while he does. 
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on June 19, 2015, 08:26:23 AM
I was just talking about the terrible dangling participles.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 19, 2015, 08:34:28 AM
OK.  I didn't think it was terrible.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 01, 2015, 09:51:23 PM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CLWJeH5XAAAQO_t.jpg)

link (http://gawker.com/cnn-cecil-the-lions-brother-jericho-has-been-killed-1721525978)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 02, 2015, 12:03:34 AM
I thought there was a family resemblance.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 17, 2015, 10:03:59 AM
Quote
Bush appeared to come out of the shell of the tortoise he has so heartily embraced as his symbol to give voters a taste of the passion he has struggled to showcase.

link (http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/17/politics/republican-debate-winners-losers-donald-trump/index.html)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on September 17, 2015, 10:22:16 AM
I bet most voters would prefer to get their taste of passion from something other than a tortoise.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on September 17, 2015, 10:41:07 AM
Like some kind of demented Venus de Milo.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on September 17, 2015, 02:09:52 PM
Quote
Bush appeared to come out of the shell of the tortoise he has so heartily embraced as his symbol to give voters a taste of the passion he has struggled to showcase.

link (http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/17/politics/republican-debate-winners-losers-donald-trump/index.html)

Wut.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 17, 2015, 02:20:52 PM
I explained it all on Twitter if you're confused (https://twitter.com/ArrantPedantry/status/644552600562503680).
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on September 17, 2015, 07:28:00 PM
I explained it all on Twitter if you're confused (https://twitter.com/ArrantPedantry/status/644552600562503680).

Followed!!!  ;D
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 14, 2016, 12:42:21 PM
Scalia's death leaves major void in high court, Utah legal experts say (https://www.ksl.com/?sid=38500811&nid=148)

I don't know, sounds like a pretty controversial opinion to me.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on February 15, 2016, 06:52:04 AM
My analysis of the data led me to the same conclusion.  Maybe I can be a legal expert, too!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 15, 2016, 09:51:16 AM
At least in Utah!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on February 24, 2016, 08:38:02 AM
Okay, I know I love to make fun of print journalists a lot, but this opening line is actually really good:

Quote
If tragedy plus time equals comedy, what does Yahoo plus Time equal?

link (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/24/business/dealbook/merger-of-time-inc-and-yahoo-could-repeat-a-disaster.html)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on February 24, 2016, 09:32:12 AM
Indeed.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 17, 2016, 11:30:37 AM
I debated whether or not this needed its own thread, and the little voice in my head that didn't want to waste new pieces of cyber-paper won out.

But let me just say it somewhere: I HATE BUSINESS BOOKS. You know, the ones that are all New York Times bestsellers and you don't know how they became bestsellers because who on earth buys and reads that nonsense but then you meet all the businessy people and you suddenly understand.

I'm working on training courses for HR and the clients keep referring to all these books offhand like I should know them all, and they just sent me home with two yesterday to pull some scenarios and quotes out of and good heavens. Who writes these? Very excited people. Very excited people with SO MANY real-life examples who have to just ramble and ramble and make numbered lists and models for everything. Stooooooop!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 17, 2016, 12:03:59 PM
Are you talking about stuff like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Who Moved My Cheese? and Crucial Conversations and all that crap? If so, yeah, I hate them too. They're generally pretty superficial fluff that take unoriginal insights and repackage them as if they're the most life-changing ideas ever.

They're really great at getting people all jazzed up about some new idea that's going to magically solve all their problems, but in my experience they're not so great as actually solving anything. And I say this from personal experience after working at FranklinCovey, a company cofounded by Stephen R. Covey.

Their consulting business seemed to be doing alright, but the day planner business was circling the drain when I was there, and nobody could figure out how to fix it. They kept asking how we could get more people to buy day planners, but nobody ever considered the possibility that the answer was "We can't." Then they sold the product half of the business to a private equity firm, who of course promised us all that nobody's jobs would go away, and then eventually everyone's jobs went away. So much for habit 1: be proactive.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 17, 2016, 12:04:36 PM
Also, you don't really need to worry about wasting new pieces of cyber-paper. We've got reams of the stuff!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 17, 2016, 12:31:20 PM
Yeah, that sort of book. One of the ones they referred to me was even worse; it wasn't even written by an author, it was written by a company. With a matching website and a program you pay for and everything. So I pirated an eBook copy to find the quote they wanted me to use - no way I wanted to try and track down the actual book™. But now I have to read the horrid thing.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 17, 2016, 12:31:54 PM
Also, you don't really need to worry about wasting new pieces of cyber-paper. We've got reams of the stuff!

:)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on March 17, 2016, 01:33:52 PM
They're generally pretty superficial fluff that take unoriginal insights and repackage them as if they're the most life-changing ideas ever.

They're really great at getting people all jazzed up about some new idea that's going to magically solve all their problems, but in my experience they're not so great as actually solving anything.
AMEN, SELAH.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 17, 2016, 01:45:48 PM
I once had some home teachers who taught me and my roommate a lesson from Who Moved My Cheese, and it was one of the dumbest things I'd ever heard.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 17, 2016, 02:07:49 PM
I once had some home teachers who taught me and my roommate a lesson from Who Moved My Cheese, and it was one of the dumbest things I'd ever heard.

Those guys work in corporate jobs in downtown Salt Lake now, I guarantee it. And they probably make way more money than either of us.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 17, 2016, 02:19:42 PM
True, but what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 17, 2016, 02:58:24 PM
About 120K a year.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Megan on March 17, 2016, 03:06:11 PM
I have worked with self-published books for nearly eight years now, and I probably see a minimum of two to three of these per week, every week.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on March 18, 2016, 06:22:24 AM
I had to read a few of those for boards I was on.

The worst are the ones where the author pretends there's a book by the same title and most of the actual book is "reporting" all the wonderful things that happened to people who read the book.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 18, 2016, 08:56:26 AM
At the last place where I worked, the CEO was smitten by that Cheese book, and required all his administrative staff to read it (he provided the copies to every office), and from then on, we were expected to work that cheese perspective into our discussions, meetings, and interactions.  We all thought is was pretty dopey, and our staff nurses were mostly perplexed when they would get cheese talk from their supervisors
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 18, 2016, 09:00:27 AM
The worst are the ones where the author pretends there's a book by the same title and most of the actual book is "reporting" all the wonderful things that happened to people who read the book.

That sounds awful. I don't think I've read one like that.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 18, 2016, 09:13:58 AM
At our annual Christmas, excuse me, holiday, party that year, all the offices from around the country had to perform Cheese-related skits and such.  My office sang "My Cheese" to the tune of "My Girl" Who's got cheddar, on a cloudy day . . ..  (My boss shot down my suggestion of "Yes, I love cheeses").

I recall sitting with a colleague as we were forced to watch one presentation after another and whispering to her, "I Camembert it any longer!"
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Megan on March 18, 2016, 09:51:50 AM
The worst are the ones where the author pretends there's a book by the same title and most of the actual book is "reporting" all the wonderful things that happened to people who read the book.
Oh, yeah, the "business novel." Ugh.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 18, 2016, 10:57:43 AM
At our annual Christmas, excuse me, holiday, party that year, all the offices from around the country had to perform Cheese-related skits and such.  My office sang "My Cheese" to the tune of "My Girl" Who's got cheddar, on a cloudy day . . ..  (My boss shot down my suggestion of "Yes, I love cheeses").

I recall sitting with a colleague as we were forced to watch one presentation after another and whispering to her, "I Camembert it any longer!"

This sounds like maybe the worst thing ever. I'm glad you improved the situation as much as you could with some valiant puns.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 18, 2016, 11:24:37 AM
This sounds like maybe the worst thing ever.

My thoughts exactly.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Ela on March 21, 2016, 01:02:03 PM
I had to read a few of those for boards I was on.

The worst are the ones where the author pretends there's a book by the same title and most of the actual book is "reporting" all the wonderful things that happened to people who read the book.

I was encouraged to read a few of those for boards I was on. I couldn't force myself to get through most of them.

And I have a few still hanging around the house that I'd like to get rid of. ;)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on March 21, 2016, 04:47:32 PM
The worst are the ones where the author pretends there's a book by the same title and most of the actual book is "reporting" all the wonderful things that happened to people who read the book.

That sounds awful. I don't think I've read one like that.

Isn't the cheese one like that?  Or maybe I'm conflating it with another one.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 22, 2016, 08:10:18 AM
I haven't actually read it—I just had an excerpt of it read to me, but that was enough to convince me never to read the rest.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on March 22, 2016, 09:10:55 AM
Ah.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on May 29, 2016, 10:58:51 AM
Zoo shoots dead gorilla to save boy
Is this an Australian usage?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 29, 2016, 12:31:42 PM
I think it's a broader Commonwealth English thing. Here's a Language Log post (http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4398) with a bunch of examples.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on May 30, 2016, 05:42:28 AM
 B) I miss NP to mean Noun Phrase and not Nurse Practitioner.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: dkw on August 07, 2016, 05:43:48 AM
"Queues, Security Scares Mark Shambolic First Day in Rio."



Mark Shambolic is apparently from a country that doesn't have security checkpoints and such.  I hope he got over his fear and was able to compete in whatever event he's famous for.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 08, 2016, 01:37:52 PM
A Boy Died on This Water Slide—in One of the Many States That Barely Ensure That Rides Are Safe (http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/08/08/a_boy_died_on_a_water_slide_in_kansas_one_of_many_states_that_barely_regulates.html)

This headline makes no sense. If the state ensured that the slide was safe—even if they just barely ensured it—then someone couldn't possibly have died on it, because that means it was unsafe. They must have intended something like "one of the many states that do little to ensure that rides are safe", but that's very different from what they said.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 08, 2016, 06:52:37 PM
Well, not necessarily. There are deaths every year on slides and roller coasters that have met far more rigorous criteria. Some people are terminally stupid, and even the best standards can't prevent ALL the stupidly dangerous stunts people try on these rides.

I agree that the headline is pretty dreadful, though.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Farmgirl on August 10, 2016, 03:37:01 PM
This happened in my state.

I agree the headline is unclear.  Basically what they have been saying is that there is no STATE inspection of such rides.  All rides are inspected by industry inspectors, not state inspectors.

This boy poor did no "stupid stunts", according to the two women in the raft with him (although lots of people, admittedly DO often do stupid things).  He was decapitated, most likely by the straps.

That was a dreadful way of writing a headline just to say there is no state regulation -- which is an entirely different thing than saying whether a ride is, or is not, safe.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on August 10, 2016, 05:56:13 PM
 >_<

What a horrible way to die.

That was a dreadful way of writing a headline just to say there is no state regulation -- which is an entirely different thing than saying whether a ride is, or is not, safe.
Exactly.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 10, 2016, 06:06:15 PM
>_<

What a horrible way to die.

Yeah. At least it was probably quick, but how awful for his family and everyone else involved.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on August 17, 2016, 02:57:52 PM
Quote
"He has been deeply unhappy for weeks," a source who agreed to speak anonymously to discuss internal discussions told NBC.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on August 17, 2016, 03:05:49 PM
A+ sentence, lots of words in there, would read again
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 14, 2016, 10:00:17 AM
Quote
Police in Kansas say a Good Samaritan was shot multiple times when he stepped in to help a woman who was being attacked in a Wal-Mart parking lot before another Good Samaritan fatally shot the suspect.

Is it just me, or does the second one really stretch the definition of "good Samaritan" beyond recognition? The good Samaritan didn't kill the guys who beat and robbed the man; he just went out of his way to help him.

link (https://www.yahoo.com/news/1-dead-2-injured-good-132050944.html)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on September 14, 2016, 12:19:32 PM
Uh, yeah. Ick.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on September 14, 2016, 01:10:38 PM
He may have been a Samaritan, but maybe not such a good one.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 14, 2016, 01:12:05 PM
I'm seriously tempted to rewrite the parable of the good Samaritan to be more in line with current NRA philosophy.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on September 14, 2016, 09:13:26 PM
Oh, that just cracked me the heck up.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 14, 2016, 09:37:15 PM
 ;D
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on October 01, 2018, 08:24:04 AM
http://mentalfloss.com/article/503970/which-food-does-your-state-hate-most

This is framed so badly it makes me mad. This is not which food each state hates most - it's whatever food each state hates more than any other state. So Chik-Fil-A is probably nowhere near the most hated food in California - it's just the food that California dislikes more than any other state.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 01, 2018, 09:38:50 AM
I've seen a LOT of listicles along these lines lately—each state's favorite search term, each state's favorite Halloween candy, and so on. They never really make that part clear, so they end up being really misleading.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Dobie on October 01, 2018, 04:07:39 PM
Quote
Police in Kansas say a Good Samaritan was shot multiple times when he stepped in to help a woman who was being attacked in a Wal-Mart parking lot before another Good Samaritan fatally shot the suspect.

Is it just me, or does the second one really stretch the definition of "good Samaritan" beyond recognition? The good Samaritan didn't kill the guys who beat and robbed the man; he just went out of his way to help him.

link (https://www.yahoo.com/news/1-dead-2-injured-good-132050944.html)

The first, unarmed "Good Samaritan" tried to help the woman without killing the attacker; he not only didn't save the woman, he ended up in critical condition himself. Both he and the original victim would likely have been killed if the second "Samaritan" had not shot the original attacker. I fail to see what makes him "Ick"-y or "maybe not such a good one".
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 01, 2018, 04:13:01 PM
You're replying to a two-year-old post there, dude.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on September 15, 2019, 07:44:08 AM
A real headline from ABC's Twitter account:

"A San Diego woman has had surgery after dreamed she was forced to eat her engagement ring woke up to discover that she had actually eaten it. (https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1173242324543037444)"
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Ela on September 15, 2019, 11:07:03 AM
 :blink:
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on September 16, 2019, 09:41:19 AM
I read an article about that earlier. But its headline was not nearly so bad.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on November 26, 2019, 08:05:46 AM
Quote
After 10 years as Utah’s governor, Gary Herbert half-jokingly converted Monday into a salesman for Speedway gas stations and its parent company, Marathon Petroleum, because they are about to become the first to sell much cleaner “Tier 3” gasoline.

Source:
https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/11/25/cleaner-tier-gas-will-be/

Am I wrong about any of these?
1. On first glance this suggests Herbert did something to Monday.
2. Should either capitalize "Gas Stations" or use "their" instead of "its".
3. It's weird for the subject and object of "converted" to be the same.
4. This article didn't get edited.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 26, 2019, 09:09:51 AM
1. Newspaper writing has a weird tradition about putting the day of the week in weird spots. Usually it's right after the subject, so it would be "Gary Herbert Monday half-jokingly converted" or maybe "Gary Herbert half-jokingly Monday converted". So this seems like a slight improvement over those options, but "on Monday Gary Herbert half-jokingly converted" would be best.
2. I don't think "gas stations" is part of the name, so it shouldn't be capped. And I think it's okay to use "its" there because it's referring to the company as a whole and not to each individual gas station. But it is weird to switch from "its" to "they" later on in the sentence. Either you're talking about them collectively or you're not.
3. Technically, "converted" doesn't have an object there. It can be either a transitive or an intransitive verb, so it doesn't always need an object. You can say that x converted y to z or just that x converted y or even just x converted, as in "Steve converted the PDF [object] to EPS [complement]" or "Steve converted the PDF [object]" or "Steve converted to Christianity [complement]."
4. I don't know if it didn't get edited, but it doesn't seem terribly well written.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on November 26, 2019, 10:16:44 AM
Thanks for illuminating. It took me long enough to understand the first sentence of the article that I got irritated and decided to look for things to criticize, heh.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on November 26, 2019, 10:47:40 AM
I think one major problem with newspaper writing is that it tries to cram too much information into one sentence, and then you trip over things or have to read it a couple of times to figure out what's actually new and relevant and what's just background info.

Something like this isn't a huge rewrite, but I think it would help a lot:

Quote
On Monday, after 10 years as Utah’s governor, Gary Herbert half-jokingly became a salesman for Speedway gas stations. Speedway is about to become the first line of gas stations in the state to sell much cleaner “Tier 3” gasoline.

It's still a stupid lede, but at least it's broken up into reasonable chunks. The mention of Marathon Petroleum can be moved a little later in the story.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on November 29, 2019, 05:57:54 AM
The day of the week might be the most syntactically motile word that can be repositioned to maximize headline size. Chrome is offended by reposition.  What say ya'll?
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Keith on May 18, 2020, 04:01:47 PM
Quote
A retired federal judge appointed to oppose the Justice Department’s bid to dismiss former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s guilty plea to lying to the FBI requested on Monday a hearing for oral arguments after he briefs the court.

I don't know WaPo's style guide at all, but I sort of think they should have had some commas in there for clarity:

Quote
A retired federal judge, appointed to oppose the Justice Department’s bid to dismiss former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s guilty plea to lying to the FBI, requested on Monday a hearing for oral arguments after he briefs the court.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 18, 2020, 06:22:47 PM
Most style guides would call that whole middle section a restrictive modifier and thus not use commas around it. But this is probably one area where overly strict adherence to the rule makes the sentence harder to read.

I think the real problem, yet again, is that journalists try to pack too much information into a single sentence so that they don't have to spend a whole paragraph explaining the backstory before they get to the real news.

Side note: I find the placement of "on Monday" in that sentence really bizarre.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on May 18, 2020, 09:16:06 PM
I think the real problem, yet again, is that journalists try to pack too much information into a single sentence so that they don't have to spend a whole paragraph explaining the backstory before they get to the real news.
Yeah, I hate this. :P
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on October 15, 2020, 10:53:15 AM
I found this article (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/berlin-coronavirus-ad-finger/index.html) amusing, but the title line ticked me off enough that I was halfway through writing an email to CNN, when I went looking for a dictionary link. WTH?!? (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refusenik)

When on earth did refusenik gain a meaning essentially the opposite of the real one (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refusenik)?? :angry:
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 15, 2020, 12:00:19 PM
Huh. I'm not really familiar with the word, but I think I've only encountered it in sense 2. The OED dates sense 1 to 1973 and sense 2 to 1981, so it's apparently been around a while.

But yeah, that's really weird that it's gone from "a person who is refused permission to do something" to "a person who refuses to do something". It's basically an autoantonym.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on October 15, 2020, 01:12:24 PM
I'm not really familiar with the word
Which just means you are not Jewish and were not following world news in the early-to-mid-80s. ;)

It is a word I am very familiar with, and which has very strong emotional associations for me.


But yeah, that's really weird that it's gone from "a person who is refused permission to do something" to "a person who refuses to do something". It's basically an autoantonym.
Yeah, exactly.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on October 15, 2020, 01:46:46 PM
Which just means you are not Jewish and were not following world news in the early-to-mid-80s. ;)

Yeah, when I saw the first definition, I thought, "Well, I guess it's no surprise that Rivka cares about this use while I didn't even know it was an issue."

Quote
It is a word I am very familiar with, and which has very strong emotional associations for me.

I can definitely see how this usage would be very jarring. Like I said, I'm not sure I've even encountered it that much, let alone used it, but it's something I'll definitely notice in the future.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on October 15, 2020, 01:52:14 PM
Great.

If only I stood a chance of convincing CNN's title-writers. ;)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Ela on October 15, 2020, 05:25:54 PM
I have to admit that the way CNN used it doesn't bother me that much. I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought if Rivka hadn't brought it up.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on May 19, 2021, 09:03:48 AM
Fungus full of psychedelic drugs could cause Indiana Brood X cicadas' butts to fall off (http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/fungus-full-of-psychedelic-drugs-could-cause-indiana-brood-x-cicadas-butts-to-fall-off/article_60c6c146-b4e8-11eb-9046-c32f2959461d.html?fbclid=IwAR04Me2eYY6XlxSn-4NQ-rJdLtreOMD1QZsretp_w7IdQV4wPkVSYVmOQtY)

What a gorgeous headline that is.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on May 19, 2021, 09:40:11 AM
And the article actually lives up to the title! That's awesome. And gross.

Also, good to see you around. :)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on May 19, 2021, 09:50:40 AM
I know!  It's full of gorgeous lines like:

“It’s this gender-bending, death-zombie fungus”

“I thought, ‘oh crap: The DEA is going to come in here, tase me, and confiscate my flying saltshakers,’”

“Imagine if, after a lifetime underground, you only had a few glorious weeks to live in the sun, eat and mate,” she said. “And then your butt fell off.”
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on May 19, 2021, 10:40:49 AM
That's awesome.

Also, hey, Tante. *waves*
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on May 19, 2021, 11:23:00 AM
I know!  It's full of gorgeous lines like:

“It’s this gender-bending, death-zombie fungus”

“I thought, ‘oh crap: The DEA is going to come in here, tase me, and confiscate my flying saltshakers,’”

“Imagine if, after a lifetime underground, you only had a few glorious weeks to live in the sun, eat and mate,” she said. “And then your butt fell off.”

 :D :D :D
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on May 19, 2021, 12:52:40 PM
I know!  It's full of gorgeous lines like:

“It’s this gender-bending, death-zombie fungus”

“I thought, ‘oh crap: The DEA is going to come in here, tase me, and confiscate my flying saltshakers,’”

“Imagine if, after a lifetime underground, you only had a few glorious weeks to live in the sun, eat and mate,” she said. “And then your butt fell off.”
Yes!

And those aren't even all the good lines!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on May 20, 2021, 05:14:15 PM
That's awesome.

Also, hey, Tante. *waves*
*waves back*

Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on June 29, 2021, 06:17:52 PM
I enjoy videogames about fighting this kind of plague:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57658859
5,000 year old man was 'oldest plague victim'
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on December 10, 2021, 01:51:36 AM
Man, this headline butchers things.  As if Omicron can remove vaccine efficacy against prior variants. 
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/07/omicron-significantly-reduces-covid-antibody-protection-in-small-study-of-pfizer-vaccine-recipients.html?recirc=taboolainternal
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on December 10, 2021, 10:11:57 AM
Considering that I have seen very similar (but not quite identical) headlines across all sorts of media outlets in the last few days, I strongly suspect that in this case the blame lies with whoever wrote the press release. And not as much with the journalists.

But yeah, it's a crappy, crappy headline.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on December 10, 2021, 10:27:35 AM
I thought the same thing when I saw that the other day, Pooka.

That's not how this works! That's not how any of this works!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: pooka on January 04, 2022, 03:59:16 PM
A sponsored link for "Nature's Morphine.".
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Noemon on March 01, 2023, 07:19:32 PM
For your reading pleasure:
https://www.whio.com/news/local/cdc-issues-public-health-alert-superbug-spreads-across-country/CRKCAUK2DBGWXBVWVE2B3VTTQI/#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16777174795560&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whio.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fcdc-issues-public-health-alert-superbug-spreads-across-country%2FCRKCAUK2DBGWXBVWVE2B3VTTQI%2F
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: rivka on March 02, 2023, 12:07:24 AM
Wow. Is it me, or does that read like it was written by an AI? And then not edited by an actual human. :P

(Hi, Noem!)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 02, 2023, 08:21:33 AM
Wow. :blink: Those are certainly a bunch of words about the superbug, also known by many as the norovirus, which is considered to be a stomach bug.

But yeah, my money is on some kind of AI. Maybe one trained on Perd Hapley quotes.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 02, 2023, 08:22:27 AM
Also, hi, Jake!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Noemon on March 02, 2023, 02:23:24 PM
But yeah, my money is on some kind of AI. Maybe one trained on Perd Hapley quotes.
:D

And hello to both of you!
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Brinestone on March 02, 2023, 02:37:28 PM
Man, they couldn't make that sound more like Perf if they tried.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Ela on March 03, 2023, 10:25:12 AM
Not only is it poorly written but full of misinformation.

News flash: antibiotics are not used to treat norovirus. It's a virus. Antibiotics don't work against viruses.
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on March 03, 2023, 12:24:18 PM
Maybe you missed the part where there's a bacteria IN the virus. ;)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Ela on March 06, 2023, 03:05:40 PM
 :D
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 28, 2024, 04:54:52 PM
Oh dear. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5036643/Grammatical-error-creates-dirty-newspaper-headline.html)
Title: Re: I hate journalistic writing
Post by: Jonathon on April 05, 2024, 08:21:25 AM
A classic.