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Author Topic: I hate journalistic writing  (Read 95397 times)

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Offline Annie Subjunctive

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #575 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?
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Offline pooka

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #576 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. 
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Offline pooka

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #577 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
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Offline Jonathon

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #578 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.
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Offline Noemon

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #579 on: March 11, 2013, 06:10:30 PM »
Are you talking about this story? The headline is still terrible, but at least it's easier to parse.
Bad headlines aside, that is incredibly tragic.
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Offline Jonathon

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #580 on: March 11, 2013, 07:32:32 PM »
Yeah.
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Offline pooka

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #581 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.
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Offline Annie Subjunctive

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #582 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."
"It is true, however, that the opposite of Little Rock, Arkansas is Boulder, Colorado." - Tante

Offline BlackBlade

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #583 on: May 01, 2013, 02:05:57 PM »
Link.

"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!"
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Offline Jonathon

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #584 on: May 01, 2013, 09:40:59 PM »
Yay for lazy journalism templates!
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Offline Jonathon

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #585 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.

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Offline Tante Shvester

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #586 on: May 03, 2013, 08:11:35 AM »
A beautiful example of the flexibility of the English language as is evolves over time.
Fighting thread drift with guilt, reverse psychology, and chicken soup.
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Offline BlackBlade

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #587 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
Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

What, you expected us to be badly injured or dead, and flying blind to boot? You're the one who told us all to be Awesome. -Brinestone

Offline BlackBlade

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #588 on: May 21, 2013, 07:22:14 PM »
The exception that proves the rule.

Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

What, you expected us to be badly injured or dead, and flying blind to boot? You're the one who told us all to be Awesome. -Brinestone

Offline Jonathon

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #589 on: May 21, 2013, 07:37:47 PM »
I'll give that one a pass.
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Offline Tante Shvester

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #590 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.
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 pooka

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #591 on: May 29, 2013, 01:10:20 PM »
I don't think anyone was killed, so is it okay that I'm still laughing?
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Offline rivka

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #592 on: June 17, 2013, 08:19:27 PM »
"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 BlackBlade

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #593 on: June 17, 2013, 09:04:19 PM »
I don't rivka, please explain!

;)
Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

What, you expected us to be badly injured or dead, and flying blind to boot? You're the one who told us all to be Awesome. -Brinestone

Offline rivka

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #594 on: June 17, 2013, 09:12:09 PM »
I'm done explaining things to you today.

*prim*
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
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Offline Jonathon

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #595 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

Ugh. I bet the copy editors were high-fiving each other after that one.
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Offline Brinestone

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #596 on: July 02, 2013, 06:36:55 AM »
Man extremely critical after motorcycle accident on I-15

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!
Ephemerality is not binary. -Porter

Offline BlackBlade

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #597 on: July 02, 2013, 06:14:37 PM »
Are motorcyclists allowed in the HOV lane?
Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

What, you expected us to be badly injured or dead, and flying blind to boot? You're the one who told us all to be Awesome. -Brinestone

Offline Jonathon

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #598 on: July 02, 2013, 06:35:30 PM »
Yes.
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Offline BlackBlade

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Re: I hate journalistic writing
« Reply #599 on: July 02, 2013, 08:46:02 PM »
Yes.
Even if they are riding individually?
Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

What, you expected us to be badly injured or dead, and flying blind to boot? You're the one who told us all to be Awesome. -Brinestone