We’re Better’n the Writers Faster’n Us, and Faster’n the Writers Better’n Us.
(Faithful readers of this blog will recognize they’ve seen this video once before. What, you’ve never watched a friggin’ rerun?)
You know you’re a freelance writer when …
… you hear yourself telling your wife, "Honey, I've got to keep the line free. I'm waiting for an important call from a rodeo clown."
Randy Michaels: Just because he’s dorky, doesn’t mean he’s wrong
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.)