It’s always good to see a new front opened up in the war against jargon. This month a couple of new books have taken up the theme – each of which contains some good reminders of the types of clichés and weasel words many of us have slipped into, but should probably try hard to
Continue reading →What if you feel you have been invited on to radio or TV under false pretences?
September 5, 2011 By
If you feel you have been invited on to a TV or radio programme under false pretences, should you make this clear to viewers and listeners by throwing a strop? My usual advice is no, it will probably make you look self-important and rather pathetic – if you’re unable to cope with the hurly-burly of
Continue reading →Johann Hari and the “fake” interviews
June 29, 2011 By
Have journalists ever been known to ‘tweak’ their quotes? Is the Pope Catholic? It has always been the tradition (in British publications much more than, say, American ones it has to be said) to ‘tidy up’ the quotes. You take out the ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and ‘you knows’ to present the interviewee’s statements more cogently.
Continue reading →Super-injunctions: why do those footballers bother?
May 23, 2011 By
The super-injunction story is moving so fast now it’s hard to keep up. The premiership footballer* who is suing Twitter has been ‘outed’ by Twitter users so many times that there can be very few remotely interested people who don’t now know who he is. His name has been mockingly chanted at football matches, and
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