Examples of dumbing down in media, written or otherwise

[Marc.Knight]

"Tehran and Washington have been 'in odd' over Tehran's nuclear ambitions that the West suspects it 'as aimed at weapon'. Iran denies the charge.

WTF?  This is the kind of sloppiness I read every day in written media.  I'm not perfect in English, but written media should strive to be a benchmark of clear communication.



Reference:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/04/iran-navy-aims-to-sail-off-us-shores-soon/?test=latestnews

[Juan]

Listen to radio and television reports and try to find the articles "a" and "the."  It's horrible.

[Marc.Knight]

Listen to radio and television reports and try to find the articles "a" and "the."  It's horrible.

...And what is (for example) "woman reporter" all about?  I've heard people say "woman reporter and male reporter" in the same sentence while forgetting that their PC-ness should apply to both men and women when trying to avoid using someone's sex as a descriptor.  The same type of craziness can be found in never saying German, Frenchman, Russian... now it is "a person from Germany..."  Heaven forbid you might insult an illegal alien who is not German, but is "from Turkey".

[HorrorRetro]

I had my own legal document editing and proofreading business, so I am particularly sensitive to seeing mistakes in the news.  After reading a story written at a 3rd-grade level, I became so disgusted that I wrote the editor of the local news organization's web site and complained.  The response I got back was, "Do you want the news fast or correct?"  I swear to God, that was the reply I got back.  I wrote back, "Both.  I don't think it's too much to ask that professionals write the story rapidly and correctly."  They then replied back that every story went though seven proofreaders, blah, blah, blah.  Well, I guess all seven proofreaders were illiterate, because the stories were almost incomprehensible.

At the time, I thought it might have been a local thing.  We've since moved twice, and I see the same mistakes over and over again on the local news. 

(If you see any mistakes in my post, I haven't reached my optimal coffee levels yet.)

[Marc.Knight]

They then replied back that every story went though seven proofreaders, blah, blah, blah.  Well, I guess all seven proofreaders were illiterate, because the stories were almost incomprehensible.

[attachimg=1]

[PB the Deplorable]

I had my own legal document editing and proofreading business, so I am particularly sensitive to seeing mistakes in the news.  After reading a story written at a 3rd-grade level, I became so disgusted that I wrote the editor of the local news organization's web site and complained.  The response I got back was, "Do you want the news fast or correct?"  I swear to God, that was the reply I got back.  I wrote back, "Both.  I don't think it's too much to ask that professionals write the story rapidly and correctly."  They then replied back that every story went though seven proofreaders, blah, blah, blah.  Well, I guess all seven proofreaders were illiterate, because the stories were almost incomprehensible.

At the time, I thought it might have been a local thing.  We've since moved twice, and I see the same mistakes over and over again on the local news. 

(If you see any mistakes in my post, I haven't reached my optimal coffee levels yet.)

I love it when people on the radio or TV grotesquely mispronounce a word, name of some nearby town, or someone's name.  Especially when they do it in their usual 'all knowing, listen to me voice'.  Hilarious. 

I at least understand that though - George Noory regularly mispronounces everyday words, the names of large cities and well known people.

[stevesh]

Not the media, but interesting:

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/smartpolitics/2012/09/michelle_obamas_dnc_speech_wri.php

[Marc.Knight]

Not the media, but interesting:

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/smartpolitics/2012/09/michelle_obamas_dnc_speech_wri.php

It is a balance between trying to make people think or losing your audience (of eighth grade level thinkers).

[Ipokesmot]

I think the several generations of drinking fluoridated water might have something to do with it.   :

[onan]

Just saw this on msnbc/nbc news site:

20-year-old fleeing robbers is shot dead by a police officer

[Juan]

In addition to the subject/verb disagreement, that is a good example of the TV news consultant driven idiocy of always using the present tense.  I swear those idiots would write "Julius Caesar is stabbed today."

For TV news, one is supposed to write in the present tense about what is going on now.  Not in the present tense about what went on yesterday. 
/rant
sorry

[onan]

My question is, was a 20 year old fleeing from a few robbers and the police mistakenly shot the 20 year old?

[Juan]

Yeah, and I read it as the robber(s) being shot.  Very poorly written.

[Sardondi]

This is where I should have put my annoyance at the ubiquity of the erroneous use of subjective personal pronouns (I, s/he, we, they) where objective ones (me, him/her, us, them) are clearly indicated. I hear it in newscasts and from show hosts and panelists just as much as I do from movies and the entertainment sector of TV. The confusion is usually in combination with two or more persons/things, which necessitates an "and". It seems that most often the misuse is about "I-me" and "he/she-him/her".

Examples: "The nurse told Sheila and I that Dad had a good night."  Or, "The President's remarks gave the kids and she a big boost." GAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

[Sardondi]

Another example of the widespread misuse of the subjective personal pronouns - Listening to the March 25, 2012 George Knapp show with guest David Paulides who says, "This river was a tough one for one for you or I to cross."

It's ME you jackass! GAAAAAAHH!!

[George Noory]

Can't say that I've noticed this "dumbing down" thing.

[Pragmier]

Some of my favorites:

Dianna Was Still Alive Hours Before She Died

Girls' Schools Still Offering 'something special' - head

Porn Star Sues Over Rear-End Collision

Federal Agents Raid Gun Shop, Find Weapons