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.)
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
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.