Notice how there's certain words and phrases that newspaper articles use a lot more than most people use. For example, "looms." You always see headlines about how something "looms."
"Budget shortfall looms."
"Bubble gum shortage looms."
Sometimes they use it even when something doesn't really loom, because everyone knows the looming event won't happen.
Another one is "beefed up." Usually it's in regard to something that didn't need to be "beefed up." For example, an article might say, "Local police today announced beefed-up enforcement of the Prohibition amendment." Nobody in real life says anything is "beefed up." And where did that phrase come from? What does it have to do with beef?
Another one is "for the foreseeable future."
Or when a source doesn't respond, they've "declined request for comment".
______ worry _______.
What does "worry" really mean? They think imminent doom is on the horizon, or they just made a comment about something that makes a good headline?
I suppose "Looms" is a CYA term so that if it doesn't actually happen the non-entertainment source isn't humiliated like sports pundits often are.
Car people say beefed up. Like, "I beefed up the control arms since they are kinda floppy stock" is totally something plausible to say. But it does sound sort of stupid to say "beefed up patrols" since it just means more people, not a physical change to a tangible object.
Another word often described as a news article cliché is gunman.
"Allegedly" is a good catch-all for covering all four cheeks.
"...Some are saying..." is another. It doesn't imply popularity, factuality, et cetera. It's just thrown out there.
Quote from: formulanone on March 11, 2021, 01:15:22 PM
"Allegedly" is a good catch-all for covering all four cheeks.
...and is also commonly used in error instead of "reportedly".
Don't forget "slams". As in "Heath Slams City Council". And then you look at what he said and it's just a normal critical statement. I would say to rise to the level of "slams" it would have to be along the lines of insulting the city council's mothers and implying that they're not capable of passing a seventh-grade math class (them or their mothers).
I don't hear it as much recently, but for quite a while the media as well as exec. spokespeople/news releases were **way** too heavily dependent on "going forward". It has been used mostly in short-to-long-term forecasts in business, but in other cases as well. Most definitely a fingernails-on-blackboard phrase for me.
*waits for Congress to make a quilt on their looms*
Quote from: kphoger on March 11, 2021, 01:18:08 PM
Quote from: formulanone on March 11, 2021, 01:15:22 PM
"Allegedly" is a good catch-all for covering all four cheeks.
...and is also commonly used in error instead of "reportedly".
A news media outlet won't use something that discredits their own employees, unless it makes excellent copy.
Brought to you by Fruit of the Loom.
Quote from: webny99 on March 11, 2021, 09:57:03 AM
Or when a source doesn't respond, they've "declined request for comment".
I was just about to put this in the Minor Things That Bother You thread. It's annoying because you know that their response will just be stereotypical: "We're looking into your concerns and will see what we can do about it."
I dislike the clickbaity terms used by the Weather Channel when a bad storm rolls through an area. You probably know them: 'wrath', 'fury', 'rage', and others (although they missed out on an opportunity a couple weeks ago to say "Uri's Fury". They instead put "Uri's Wrath"). They just get old very quickly.
Buses usually don't "crash". They "plunge" (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2006/11/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-bus-plunge-story.html).
Another one that annoys me is that the interviewee is "cautiously optimistic" about some outcome. That one cuts across both political news and the sports page.
Another one is when they talk about what something will "look like." They keep using that regarding the pandemic. "What will beaches look like?" "What will pooping look like?" Usually it's something that ends up looking exactly like it did before.
Coming up next: Tim Brown opens up about modern society's most exasperating news clichés! And he's not alone. It's a searing indictment of our broken system. If history is any guide, at the end of the day, we'll reach a tipping point, and then the rest will be history.
One thing that drives me nuts is stock footage!!
How many times these past few months have I seen stock footage from Moderna's assembly lines, or footage of somebody being given a shot.
Another one I can't stand is "Health Watch" segments, which is mostly stock footage of fat people's mid-sections.
Quote from: OCGuy81 on March 13, 2021, 06:19:52 PM
One thing that drives me nuts is stock footage!!
How many times these past few months have I seen stock footage from Moderna's assembly lines, or footage of somebody being given a shot.
Another one I can't stand is "Health Watch" segments, which is mostly stock footage of fat people's mid-sections.
For years, every time there's a story about smoking or cigarettes, they always show the same stock footage of close-ups of people's mouths with a cigarette dangling out of it.
Quote from: OCGuy81 on March 13, 2021, 06:19:52 PM
One thing that drives me nuts is stock footage!!
How many times these past few months have I seen stock footage from Moderna's assembly lines, or footage of somebody being given a shot.
Another one I can't stand is "Health Watch" segments, which is mostly stock footage of fat people's mid-sections.
That was really annoying me last year during the vaping scare, as every single story (and there was one every single day!) featured the exact same stock footage of the exact same guy with annoying stubble vaping.
Quote from: kurumi on March 13, 2021, 11:57:38 AMComing up next: Tim Brown opens up about modern society's most exasperating news clichés! And he's not alone. It's a searing indictment of our broken system. If history is any guide, at the end of the day, we'll reach a tipping point, and then the rest will be history.
ISWYDT.
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
Something irrelevant happened two days ago.
Miami Herald; Hurricane Karen looms, governor requests Florida residents beef up their preparedness kits.
Meanwhile on Page 6...
Pasco County; Florida Man caught consuming alligator in front of 7/11. When asked for comment Florida Man stated; "he was a beefed up gator, so I ate him."
Some others are "revamp" and "phase out." Another is when they say an event will be "a bit different" from before, they mean "a lot worse."
When they use "experts say...".
Who are the experts? And how many?
Which leads into another beefed up irritation: using the percentage of whatever view they are trying to convey. If they say : "70% interviewed do not want the tree removed", many will think that's a lot of people. But if they said: "30% of experts agree we will be safer if the beautiful shade tree planted by the parents of superstar first grader Cindy is not disturbed", that still seems to convey that the majority of people want the tree removed, combined with emotion that Cindy actually gives a shit about that tree.
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 10:01:01 AM
Another is when they say an event will be "a bit different" from before, they mean "a lot worse."
Just like, "the new normal".
Quote from: SectorZ on March 14, 2021, 10:33:05 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 10:01:01 AM
Another is when they say an event will be "a bit different" from before, they mean "a lot worse."
Just like, "the new normal".
Beefed up experts say the new normal looms?
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 14, 2021, 11:10:49 AM
Quote from: SectorZ on March 14, 2021, 10:33:05 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 10:01:01 AM
Another is when they say an event will be "a bit different" from before, they mean "a lot worse."
Just like, "the new normal".
Beefed up experts say the new normal looms?
Allegedly.
Another stock footage shot I've grown to hate, with the recent stimulus, is sheets of $100 bills coming off the press. It's usually followed by footage of people strolling through a mall, shopping bags in hand.
....and one more thing. LOL!
Not everything needs to be live.
The affiliates out of Portland seem to love being live when there's even a chance of snow.
"As you can see, we're at a Sunset Highway overpass and you can see a few flurries starting to fall...let's zoom in here..." 🙄
"Taking a proactive approach."
"Upping the ante."
A phrase used by weatherpeople: "much-needed rain." It doesn't matter how much rain we've already gotten.
Quote from: webny99 on March 11, 2021, 09:57:03 AM
Or when a source doesn't respond, they've "declined request for comment".
Or saying something like "an official familar with the investigation, who spoke on request of anonymity because they're not authorized to discuss the matter publically". In every other business and industry, this would be considered insider trading.
"Iconic", "Historic", "Classic." are my top three media overused and misused words. Also sick and tired how the media loves the terms "allegedly" and "alleged" - which they never seem to use right. As in "Police caught the alleged suspects", or "The suspect was charged with alleged armed robbery".
"We'll tell you what you need to know." How do you know what I need to know? Is there something you think I don't need to know?
"Breaking news"
something is going to "take place".
"The normal temperature for March 14 is..." ...you mean average?
As others have mentioned, the constant search for something "historic" especially in sports..."This is the first time in historya hairy-legged short stop has caught a ground ball on the third bounce without a mitt on a Tuesday in June that's partly cloudy but with a 20% chance of rain. You'll recall last week, Dirk Quigly caught a ground ball without a mitt on the third bounce on a partly cloudy day with a 40% chance of rain. Also historic."
"A bold new plan."
How about "The suspect opened fire on the victim" instead of "The suspect shot the victim" ?
My favorite is when the TV news has a report on some consumer scam and the reporter says it "might just make your money disappear" and uses a camera trick to make money disappear.
Quote from: OCGuy81 on March 14, 2021, 11:54:16 AM
....and one more thing. LOL!
Not everything needs to be live.
The affiliates out of Portland seem to love being live when there's even a chance of snow.
"As you can see, we're at a Sunset Highway overpass and you can see a few flurries starting to fall...let's zoom in here..." 🙄
Yeah. I get that there are severe weather events that do require live coverage, but a lot of the time stations are live could probably be handled by graphics and scrolling text on the bottom of the screen. My local station started doing that when the severe weather is more of the same or all they're reporting is a storm warning. If there's something new it will beep to get people's attention.
Quote from: OCGuy81 on March 14, 2021, 11:51:41 AM
Another stock footage shot I've grown to hate, with the recent stimulus, is sheets of $100 bills coming off the press. It's usually followed by footage of people strolling through a mall, shopping bags in hand.
Nothing beats stock footage of morbidly obese people from the chest down when they've got some sort of story discussing obesity.
"Breaking news." Guess what, if it hasn't been reported before, it's automatically breaking news.
Not terminology, but two things along the same lines that irritate me:
(1) "Coming up! Joe Reporter with a live report!" More often than not, it's a bland live intro to a prerecorded and edited segment.
(2) Useless images accompanying text articles, because it's the only way to hold anyone's attention. For instance, a story involving police action is accompanied by a stock photo of a police cruiser's disco light bar.
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 12:18:32 PM
A phrase used by weatherpeople: "much-needed rain." It doesn't matter how much rain we've already gotten.
Your local drought-stricken farmers might beg to differ on that.
Quote from: US 89 on March 14, 2021, 06:26:22 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 12:18:32 PM
A phrase used by weatherpeople: "much-needed rain." It doesn't matter how much rain we've already gotten.
Your local drought-stricken farmers might beg to differ on that.
It's just that we never actually have droughts around here. If we go 3 days without rain, that's called a "drought."
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 06:30:57 PM
Quote from: US 89 on March 14, 2021, 06:26:22 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 12:18:32 PM
A phrase used by weatherpeople: "much-needed rain." It doesn't matter how much rain we've already gotten.
Your local drought-stricken farmers might beg to differ on that.
It's just that we never actually have droughts around here. If we go 3 days without rain, that's called a "drought."
You should check the drought monitor of the National Drought Mitigation Center. You'd be surprised by how much of the country experiences drought throughout the year.
How non-specific headlines are now, especially on the internet: "Person killed on Delaware Highway". The headline is specifically designed to be vague, to encourage people to click on the link to see if it happened in your area.
This is a takeoff from what papers did in the 1990's: "Delaware gets funding for upgrades". If the newspaper is a Delaware newspaper, chances are the news should be about Delaware. But, by repeating that it's Delaware news, it drew people in to buy the paper and read more about it.
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 03:00:10 PM
My favorite is when the TV news has a report on some consumer scam and the reporter says it "might just make your money disappear" and uses a camera trick to make money disappear.
Cincinnati news is especially cheesy when it comes to consumer scam reporting. "Don't Waste Your Money!" Cincinnati news in general cranked up my sarcasm level to the max due to the cheesiness. Almost melty. With that said, today's Columbus news is too dry. It wasn't until about 2000.
Quote from: Rothman on March 14, 2021, 06:37:07 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 06:30:57 PM
Quote from: US 89 on March 14, 2021, 06:26:22 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 12:18:32 PM
A phrase used by weatherpeople: "much-needed rain." It doesn't matter how much rain we've already gotten.
Your local drought-stricken farmers might beg to differ on that.
It's just that we never actually have droughts around here. If we go 3 days without rain, that's called a "drought."
You should check the drought monitor of the National Drought Mitigation Center. You'd be surprised by how much of the country experiences drought throughout the year.
Last year was a drought year in Ohio even though almost everything I tried to do got rained on.
Quote from: GCrites80s on March 11, 2021, 12:14:00 PM
I suppose "Looms" is a CYA term so that if it doesn't actually happen the non-entertainment source isn't humiliated like sports pundits often are.
Car people say beefed up. Like, "I beefed up the control arms since they are kinda floppy stock" is totally something plausible to say. But it does sound sort of stupid to say "beefed up patrols" since it just means more people, not a physical change to a tangible object.
What if I "beef up" my cattle inventory?
"Reporting live from the scene." Means standing in front of the closed courthouse, where 8 hours ago some perp was arraigned on a Zoom call.
"Miracle economy" (a phrase used only when the economy is at its worst)
Quote from: bandit957 on March 15, 2021, 08:31:51 AM
"Miracle economy" (a phrase used only when the economy is at its worst)
You've previously claimed a bad economy when it was good (such as from ≈2014 to when COVID-19 hit).
How can we go two pages without mentioning Florida Man?
Quote from: US 89 on March 14, 2021, 06:26:22 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 12:18:32 PM
A phrase used by weatherpeople: "much-needed rain." It doesn't matter how much rain we've already gotten.
Your local drought-stricken farmers might beg to differ on that.
But do the
reporters check with the farmers first, before claiming the rain is of the "much-needed" sort? Heck, the rain might be interrupting harvest operations, and they would really prefer it NOT be raining right now–drought conditions or not.
Also, aren't there some places where rain is always (or at least almost always) much-needed?
Quote from: webny99 on March 15, 2021, 11:49:54 AM
Also, aren't there some places where rain is always (or at least almost always) much-needed?
California.
It can cause some real shit, but if the rain equates to mountain snow? That's always needed
Quote from: 1 on March 15, 2021, 08:41:06 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 15, 2021, 08:31:51 AM
"Miracle economy" (a phrase used only when the economy is at its worst)
You've previously claimed a bad economy when it was good (such as from ≈2014 to when COVID-19 hit).
How can we go two pages without mentioning Florida Man?
Florida Man was a gift to mankind.
Not going to lie....the stock footage of spring break isn't terrible.
Sigh....probably just me becoming a dirty old man 😞
How can they inform old people about the dangers of butt-chugging if they don't show images of scantily clad coeds?
Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 14, 2021, 10:28:25 AM
When they use "experts say...".
Who are the experts? And how many?
And what, exactly, did they say? I bet it isn't exactly what the reporter is claiming they said.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 14, 2021, 10:28:25 AM
Which leads into another beefed up irritation: using the percentage of whatever view they are trying to convey. If they say : "70% interviewed do not want the tree removed", many will think that's a lot of people. But if they said: "30% of experts agree we will be safer if the beautiful shade tree planted by the parents of superstar first grader Cindy is not disturbed", that still seems to convey that the majority of people want the tree removed, combined with emotion that Cindy actually gives a shit about that tree.
Of those 70%, how many even live near the tree? How many knew it existed to begin with? How many never want any tree torn down, no matter what? How many don't really care one way or the other, but they gave an answer anyway?
And, oh yeah, there were only ten people interviewed? And they were all members of an official community group? On Arbor Day? Hmmm, didn't say anything about that, did you...
"Scientists may have discovered/solved/found X"
Well, did they or did they not? If they don't explicitly say they did find whatever X is, then they probably didn't.
Quote from: wanderer2575 on March 14, 2021, 06:21:02 PM
(2) Useless images accompanying text articles, because it's the only way to hold anyone's attention. For instance, a story involving police action is accompanied by a stock photo of a police cruiser's disco light bar.
Especially when they can't even be bothered to find a picture that actually fits the headline.
Granted, this isn't a news article, but can anyone spot the error? Way to go, ad agency...
(https://i.imgur.com/J8WkWzi.jpg)
Those type of ads always make me laugh because 1) Oklahoma doesn't have a DMV (here, it's the Department of Public Safety or DPS) and 2) Oklahomans very rarely interact with DPS directly; instead, public-facing DPS functions are conducted by private tag agencies that perform most customer-service tasks. The only time the public has to interact with DPS itself is for initial driver license testing. Passing the test means you get a paper that you then take to a tag agent to get the actual license.
Also that's a fake California driver license.
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 06:30:57 PM
Quote from: US 89 on March 14, 2021, 06:26:22 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 12:18:32 PM
A phrase used by weatherpeople: "much-needed rain." It doesn't matter how much rain we've already gotten.
Your local drought-stricken farmers might beg to differ on that.
It's just that we never actually have droughts around here. If we go 3 days without rain, that's called a "drought."
Supposedly Massachusetts had a "drought" last summer. That just means we have to keep our showers down to less than 30 minutes
Quote from: kernals12 on March 20, 2021, 11:40:48 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 06:30:57 PM
Quote from: US 89 on March 14, 2021, 06:26:22 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 14, 2021, 12:18:32 PM
A phrase used by weatherpeople: "much-needed rain." It doesn't matter how much rain we've already gotten.
Your local drought-stricken farmers might beg to differ on that.
It's just that we never actually have droughts around here. If we go 3 days without rain, that's called a "drought."
Supposedly Massachusetts had a "drought" last summer. That just means we have to keep our showers down to less than 30 minutes
Drought conditions happen more often than you think. Check the national drought monitor and you may be surprised.
Another one is "Like it or not", which is usually in regard to something bad.
"Like it or not, all Kentuckians are now required to go to the bathroom at precisely 5:19 each evening."
Quote from: bandit957 on March 23, 2021, 05:42:35 PM
Another one is "Like it or not", which is usually in regard to something bad.
"Like it or not, all Kentuckians are now required to go to the bathroom at precisely 5:19 each evening."
Everyone going to the bathroom at the same time may foul up the sanitary sewer system.
Quote from: Big John on March 23, 2021, 05:59:01 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 23, 2021, 05:42:35 PM
Another one is "Like it or not", which is usually in regard to something bad.
"Like it or not, all Kentuckians are now required to go to the bathroom at precisely 5:19 each evening."
Everyone going to the bathroom at the same time may foul up the sanitary sewer system.
They just have to go there, not necessarily do anything once they get there. Maybe they could fold towels.
Spike and surge, in the context of COVID cases.
Another one is how something is "here to stay."
"Like it or not, 5:19 pm bathroom surges are here to stay"
"...double-down on..." = we're continuing to rehash this news story
"...here's what we know (so far)" = you can ignore this article in 4 to 36 hours from now
"...ripped for..." = their opinion, not our thinly-veiled opinion, for which we also agree with
Quote from: formulanone on March 23, 2021, 08:08:25 PM
"...here's what we know (so far)" = you can ignore this article in 4 to 36 hours from now
Admittedly, we hardly know anything yet, but we still feel the need to tell you about it. And you can't stop watching, so we're good, right?
Quote from: bandit957 on March 23, 2021, 05:42:35 PM
Another one is "Like it or not", which is usually in regard to something bad.
"Like it or not, all Kentuckians are now required to go to the bathroom at precisely 5:19 each evening."
See, this is another hokey thing that the news in Cincinnati says that you don't hear other places.
I thought of another one: "We won't tolerate it." It's usually a quote by police or school administrators regarding teens misbehaving.
Calling anything "historic." By strict definition, every single thing that happens is historic. The mundane activities of your life today are historic because by tomorrow, they will be in the past (although most likely not recorded). And yet every single piece of legislation, every single victory by a sports team, is now "historic," as if it will be some kind of epic measuring stick for society that will be talked about for centuries to come.
Surprised no one had said this one: "This just in..."
Especially on election night.
Chris
Quote from: bandit957 on March 23, 2021, 07:01:50 PM
Another one is how something is "here to stay."
Not a New Order fan then?
https://youtu.be/jy2R64qWaSc
Quote from: bandit957 on October 05, 2021, 03:34:25 PM
I thought of another one: "We won't tolerate it." It's usually a quote by police or school administrators regarding teens misbehaving.
Thread Bump Looms: Tim Beefs Up Seven-Month-Old Thread
"reshape"