Author Topic: I hate journalistic writing (Read 100498 times)

pooka · « **Reply #750 on:** May 29, 2016, 10:58:51 AM »

Zoo shoots dead gorilla to save boy
Is this an Australian usage?

Jonathon · « **Reply #751 on:** May 29, 2016, 12:31:42 PM »

I think it's a broader Commonwealth English thing. Here's a Language Log post with a bunch of examples.

pooka · « **Reply #752 on:** May 30, 2016, 05:42:28 AM »

I miss NP to mean Noun Phrase and not Nurse Practitioner.

dkw · « **Reply #753 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.

Jonathon · « **Reply #754 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

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.

rivka · « **Reply #755 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.

Farmgirl · « **Reply #756 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.

rivka · « **Reply #757 on:** August 10, 2016, 05:56:13 PM »

What a horrible way to die.

Quote from: Farmgirl on August 10, 2016, 03:37:01 PM

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.

Jonathon · « **Reply #758 on:** August 10, 2016, 06:06:15 PM »

Quote from: rivka on August 10, 2016, 05:56:13 PM

What a horrible way to die.

Yeah. At least it was probably quick, but how awful for his family and everyone else involved.

Keith · « **Reply #759 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.

Jonathon · « **Reply #760 on:** August 17, 2016, 03:05:49 PM »

A+ sentence, lots of words in there, would read again

Jonathon · « **Reply #761 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

Brinestone · « **Reply #762 on:** September 14, 2016, 12:19:32 PM »

Uh, yeah. Ick.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #763 on:** September 14, 2016, 01:10:38 PM »

He may have been a Samaritan, but maybe not such a good one.

Jonathon · « **Reply #764 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.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #765 on:** September 14, 2016, 09:13:26 PM »

Oh, that just cracked me the heck up.

Jonathon · « **Reply #766 on:** September 14, 2016, 09:37:15 PM »

Keith · « **Reply #767 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.

Jonathon · « **Reply #768 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.

Dobie · « **Reply #769 on:** October 01, 2018, 04:07:39 PM »

Quote from: 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

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".

Jonathon · « **Reply #770 on:** October 01, 2018, 04:13:01 PM »

You're replying to a two-year-old post there, dude.

Jonathon · « **Reply #771 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."

Ela · « **Reply #772 on:** September 15, 2019, 11:07:03 AM »

rivka · « **Reply #773 on:** September 16, 2019, 09:41:19 AM »

I read an article about that earlier. But its headline was not nearly so bad.

Keith · « **Reply #774 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.