Is there anything more contrived and stupid than the current
trend of TV reporters and anchors introducing a blathering politician or some
other video clip by preceding it with the asinine comment “take a listen?”
Centuries ago, when English was the preferred language of American
news presenters (before NewsSpeak supplanted English), the presenter would
introduce a video file directly, by saying something like “…and the mayor came
out strongly against a wheel tax.” Then the video would play. Now, for reasons
I don’t pretend to understand, it’s become “…and the mayor came out strongly against
a wheel tax. Take a listen:”
Having been in the business of broadcasting for much of my pre-retirement
life, I observed decades ago that stupid vocal frills like “take a listen”
generally start on either coast and then move inland. If they’re saying it in
LA or New York, it quickly works its way in to Omaha and Chicago. After all, if
you want to be a member of the club, you’ve got to know and use the jargon.
Like sportscasters who now invariably say “welcome in to the
broadcast” and constantly mistake prolific for proficient.
Another important element of NewsSpeak is the use of the
word “giant” on second reference to some corporate entity in the news. For the
uninitiated, an example: “Breaking overnight: Costco announces mass layoffs.
The retail giant says…” or “Facebook is introducing a new ‘thumbs down’ icon.
The social media giant says…” It’s like
there’s some arcane NewsSpeak grammar that forbids the use of the company’s
name except in the opening line of a story.
Kinda like “budget” becomes “spending plan” and “snow” becomes
“the white stuff” on second reference. And the use of unnecessary auxiliary
words like “price point” for “price.” Not to mention the frequent use of “hone
in on” rather than the correct “home in on.” (Even my auto-correct flagged the
incorrect usage!)
I don’t need to expound on the bogus use of “breaking overnight”
by morning news presenters, even though the “breaking” news broke 24 to 36
hours before.
Or the implication, sometimes couched in less inflammatory language,
that your family is not safe unless you watch our newscast. “Fire kills three
in east-side conflagration – firefighters say the origin of the fire was in an
appliance which you may have in your home right now. The frightening details on
the 6 o’clock news.”
Ever notice how even the most insignificant events – like a
game show contestant on a long winning streak – become “historic?” History
books won’t mention Ken Jennings’ long win streak on Jeopardy. Similarly, “amazing”
is now regularly used to describe mundane events, and “hero” is anyone who does
anything challenging or moderately difficult.
I know. I’m a dinosaur, a throwback to the days when English
was the preferred language of news presenters, jargon was to be avoided, and auxiliary
verbs were always used when appropriate.
