moorehn:

One of the biggest disappointments in the development of professional newsrooms over the past 30 years - that is, as journalists morphed from drunken outsiders to clean-cut Woodward and Bernstein Ivy-League careerists - is how increasingly standard “news” writing consists of bloodless prose, inexact descriptions designed not to offend, impenetrable jargon, and politically correct euphemisms.

In the effort to write in an objective way and cover up all subjective impressions, journalism has become not a method of communication, but a code for knowledgeable insiders. Newsrooms have also become fewer in number and more competitive in spirit, making even the top players loathe to admit that they were scooped or that an important story came to them not from shoe-leather reporting and tenacity, but because of corporate design to gain coverage. (How do you make a journalist report on a subject he otherwise wouldn’t care about? Pitch it as an “exclusive,” and all of a sudden even nonsense looks like the scoop of the century.)

This afternoon on Twitter, a number of journalists offered their own hilarious translations for this coded reporting language, at least where it is designed to avoid responsibility or act as a craven grab for glory. The collection is below. Watch out for these codes in a newspaper or TV near you.

 Today in journalese: “little noticed”. Translation: “we totally missed this story” - j.mp/vZ3IAi  (Stacy-Marie Ishmael, @s_m_i _

 “I can exclusively reveal” = “assuming you don’t use Twitter” (@s_m_i )

  

“It is understood” = “We think…” ( @s_m_i)

“We have learned” = “We read in another paper” (Lorcan Roche Kelly, @lorcanrk)

“Observers say” (when not followed by specific quote from named individual = “my editor said” (Shannon Bond, @shannonpareil)

  

“According to people familiar with the matter” = ” …at the PR firm that fed us the story.” (@moorehn)

“Reportedly” = “already published elsewhere.” (@Editer)

“Controversial” = “saw some guy ranting about it on CNN” (@Editer)

“Set to…” = “This will almost definitely happen but I’m covering my ass in case it doesn’t.” (@shannonpareil)

“The companies are mulling/ in talks” = “The PR/banker told me this on background, primarily to test the market reaction before they sign.” (@moorehn)

“It is unclear.” = “The two people I talked to disagree with each other.” (@shannonpareil)

 ”It is unclear.” = “The one person I talked to disagreed with me.” (@liamdenning)

There. Go enjoy your journalism.

 

 

  

 

 

11:45 pm  •  25 November 2011  •  48 notes