Ban these words, please! Part 2: Words that TV news could do without

...Annnnnnnd we're back with another edition of Ban these words, please! Thank you for joining us on this Tuesday.

ARE there words and/or phrases that should be banned from television news, not because of offensiveness but the annoyance of overuse or misuse? That's all coming up. Please stay with us for a special report on words and phrases that we feel should no longer be allowed on TV news.

...annnnnnd...let's start with AND, especially at the beginning of a sentence. While it may be useful for floor directors advising "talent" that they are back on the air, viewers already know that "we're back" without any explanation. Annnnnnnnnd there's no reason to begin all your sentences with "annnnnnnnnnd" if you're not a floor director yourself.

LIVE -- as in, "Our Joe Blow is live in front of the courthouse that won't be open for another five hours. Joe, what are the latest developments this morning?"

As long as all your reporters are alive when they're reporting, it's a waste of your time and ours for you to point out that they are live. If you do use dead reporters, I recommend the legendary Edward R. Murrow.

OUR (also OUR OWN)-- as in the same example.

If a reporter is on your air, reporting for you, that should be enough. If that reporter is a freelancer, stringer, special correspondent, or similarly labeled independent contractor, they are not "yours." Acknowledge the freelancers working for you as the independent contractors they are. If you are unsure about which reporters you can call yours, ask yourself, "Does our parent company provide health insurance, sick pay, vacation, and other benefits for this reporter?" If not, omit the "our".

Coming up -- There is a classic rule for public speaking that was once explained to me like this: tell em what you're gonna tell em and then tell em and then tell em what you told em. TV news has rewritten that: tell em what you're gonna tell em and take a quick break and then tell em what you're gonna tell em and then tell em what you're gonna tell em and then take a short break and then tell em what you're gonna tell em and then tell em what you're gonna tell em and then, if there's time left, tell em, and then if there's still time left, fill it with a mixture of what you think about what you just told em and intermittent chuckling.

Just briefly, real quick -- best illustrated by The New York Times's Elisabeth Bumiller's unbelievably stupid question to John Kerry in the New York Democratic presidential debate: "Really fast, last, on a Sunday morning, President Bush has said that freedom and fear have always been at war and God is not neutral between them. He's made quite clear in these speeches that he feels God is on America's side. Really quick: Is God on America's side?

How _____X_____ does it feel? When I was a cub reporter, the journalists' incessant chant was just as Bob Dylan immortalized it: "How does it FEEL? How does it FEEL?" But no more. Now the journalist fills in the blank -- how frustrating does it feel? How bad does it feel? "How worried are you, ma'am, about your missing child?" All that's left for the interviewee is the intensity of the specified feeling.

Our hearts go out to you. (Usually followed by: Let's take a short break.). Yes, let's.

Give me a sense... If you must say this, make it "Give me some sense..." at least until an interviewee replies, "Ma'am, if the Good Lord didn't give you any, there's nothing I can do to help you."

Thank you for taking the time -- stop saying this, especially to:

-- the desperate parent of a kidnapped blond white child (the parents of nonblond, nonwhite ones rarely get the chance to go on TV, do they?)
-- a flak ("public relations person") or spokesperson
-- any politician
-- one of "your" reporters.

Thanks for joining us, and tune in again next week when we go after some words and phrases we'd rather not see in print news media.
  ¶ 7:10 PM |