Blogs.vocalo.org: 119 words and phrases banned in WGN-AM radio newsroom
March 12th, 2010Posted by Judith Townend in Broadcasting, Editors' pick
It looks like the US has a subbing pedant to rival the Telegraph’s Simon Heffer: the Tribune Co. CEO, Randy Michaels.
Vocalo’s Robert Feder shares a memo on 119 words or phrases banned on air by Michaels. Anchors or reporters for his radio news station, WGN-AM, must never pronounce W. “dubbaya”, for example – it’s double you. It’s “moot point” not “mute” – “but don’t say that either”. Nothing “went terribly wrong”; “undocumented aliens” are forbidden and no-one left this world in an “untimely death”. “At risk”; “legendary”, “no brainer” and “perfect storm” are also among the vocabulary victims.
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