Writing Boots

On communication, professional and otherwise.

Randy Michaels: Just because he’s dorky, doesn’t mean he’s wrong

03.10.2010 by David Murray // 2 Comments

Randy Michaels, the new-ish CEO of the Tribune Co., is being criticized for forbidding announcers on the Tribune's radio property, WGN, to utter these ridiculous newspeak words. 

"The real goal here," Michaels told staffers in a memo, "is to avoid using words that make you sound like you're reading, instead of talking—that shatter the image you're speaking knowledgeably to one person. By not using 'newsspeak,' you enhance your reputation as a communicator."

I'm with Michaels on this one: Stripped of these words, WGN hosts might actually be forced to say something human every once in a while, which would, for the station, signal a new beginning.

(Randy, feel free to add that last phrase to your list.)

Categories // Uncategorized Tags // CEO, Chicago Tribune, newsspeak, Randy Michaels, WGN

Comments

  1. Greg says

    March 10, 2010 at 3:45 pm

    Amen. Lots of those words and phrases, favored by newsreaders everywhere, have been driving me nuts for years.
    OK, that’s more of a short putt, I know. But I have no problem with the top dog issuing a list like this. Probably one of the first things I’d do in his shoes.
    Greg

    Reply
  2. Robert J Holland, ABC says

    March 11, 2010 at 9:21 am

    Imagine! The leader of a news organization expects the journalists who work for him to know how to communicate free of jargon and cliches!
    Now if only more heads of corporate communication departments would do the same.

    Reply

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