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Author Topic: I hate journalistic writing  (Read 99731 times)

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Offline Tante Shvester

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I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #275 on: February 09, 2010, 02:29:14 AM »
I read this in Sunday's paper.  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 . . ."
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Offline Annie Subjunctive

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« Reply #276 on: February 15, 2010, 10:18:43 AM »
"It is true, however, that the opposite of Little Rock, Arkansas is Boulder, Colorado." - Tante

Offline rivka

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« Reply #277 on: February 15, 2010, 10:31:25 AM »
Fun article. :)
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Jonathon

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I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #278 on: February 16, 2010, 10:05:06 PM »
Speaking of crash blossoms . . .

G.O.P. Hopes for Senate Control Face Hurdles
« Last Edit: February 16, 2010, 10:05:43 PM by Jonathon »
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Offline Brinestone

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I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #279 on: February 17, 2010, 06:48:18 AM »
The sad thing is, they could fix that with a simple 's after GOP.
Ephemerality is not binary. -Porter

Offline The Genuine

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« Reply #280 on: February 17, 2010, 09:30:52 AM »
I don't get it, JB.

"Hopes" is plural, and they're the ones facing the hurdles, right?
I think Jesse's right.

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Offline Brinestone

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« Reply #281 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.
Ephemerality is not binary. -Porter

Offline Tante Shvester

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I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #282 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.
Fighting thread drift with guilt, reverse psychology, and chicken soup.
Sweet! Law of Moses loopholes! -- Anneke
I love Bones.  -- Sweet Clementine
She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. -- anonymous

Offline sweet clementine

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I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #283 on: February 17, 2010, 11:58:29 AM »
But props to you for jumping hurdles in a skirt
"I must be due for a mighty smiting sometime soon." ~Annie

Offline Tante Shvester

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« Reply #284 on: February 17, 2010, 01:24:26 PM »
I'm quite dainty.
Fighting thread drift with guilt, reverse psychology, and chicken soup.
Sweet! Law of Moses loopholes! -- Anneke
I love Bones.  -- Sweet Clementine
She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. -- anonymous

Offline Brinestone

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I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #285 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.
Ephemerality is not binary. -Porter

Offline The Genuine

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« Reply #286 on: February 17, 2010, 02:32:00 PM »
:: pouts ::

I wanna see the joke!
I think Jesse's right.

 -- Jonathon

Offline Brinestone

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« Reply #287 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.
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Offline Tante Shvester

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« Reply #288 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.
Fighting thread drift with guilt, reverse psychology, and chicken soup.
Sweet! Law of Moses loopholes! -- Anneke
I love Bones.  -- Sweet Clementine
She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. -- anonymous

Offline Jonathon

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I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #289 on: March 20, 2010, 09:00:56 PM »
I can't figure out how to parse this headline.
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Offline rivka

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« Reply #290 on: March 20, 2010, 10:07:04 PM »
The title that appears on the top (in FF, at least) makes far more sense.
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Tante Shvester

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« Reply #291 on: March 22, 2010, 02:49:48 AM »
Butcher Sparkles in Duck Loss During Annual Trip to Florida

 :wacko:  
Fighting thread drift with guilt, reverse psychology, and chicken soup.
Sweet! Law of Moses loopholes! -- Anneke
I love Bones.  -- Sweet Clementine
She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. -- anonymous

Offline Jonathon

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Offline Jonathon

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I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #293 on: May 04, 2010, 06:05:19 PM »
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline rivka

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« Reply #294 on: May 04, 2010, 06:12:42 PM »
Is the misspelling theirs or the person they're quoting?
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Jonathon

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« Reply #295 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].
« Last Edit: May 04, 2010, 06:17:36 PM by Jonathon »
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Offline Tante Shvester

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« Reply #296 on: May 04, 2010, 08:53:44 PM »
Or a  :sick:  
Fighting thread drift with guilt, reverse psychology, and chicken soup.
Sweet! Law of Moses loopholes! -- Anneke
I love Bones.  -- Sweet Clementine
She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. -- anonymous

Offline JT

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I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #297 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.
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What sets the carbon atom apart is that it is shamelessly promiscuous.

Offline rivka

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« Reply #298 on: May 24, 2010, 05:22:19 PM »
WHO thought that typeface was a good idea? Not the one most of the text is in; the one the headlines are in. And even worse, the examples are in it too!
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Jonathon

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« Reply #299 on: May 24, 2010, 06:22:20 PM »
What. The. Crap.
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