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Repetition the cause of shocking journalism

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

If you ever find yourself watching the news and experiencing extreme déjà vous it may not be such a coincidence after all. You are quite possibly experiencing one of the phenomenons of modern media: over-repetitive use of certain words and phrases.

Take the word shocking for instance. This of course is a word that is used to describe any event that we find tragic, disastrous, disturbing, unpleasant, violent, sudden, unexpected, frightening and so on. Try watching any of the news bulletins on the BBC, who seem to prefer the word shocking to any other synonym, and shocking events may very well be reported. Don’t just take my word for it, see for yourself.

A search for the word shocking on the BBC website site yields 1,674 audio & video results alone. Taken in context of the total number of results to search through and that might not seem like many, but consider some synonyms for shocking and their comparitive audio & video results: startling (22), astounding (21), staggering (65) and appalling (239). So, of 2,021 total occurences, nearly 83% are of shocking.

The BBC are not alone, however, as results from Sky News are roughly proportionate (75%). If, on the other hand, we look at the same results for an organisation with a print background, such as The Guardian (31%) or The Sun (45%) the distinction is much less marked though still significant.

The great advantage that shocking has over its synonyms is probably impact value - this is a word that fairly rolls off the tongue and can be said very emphatically - more so than, say, appalling. This illustrates why the results we have seen are less for print media, where the advantage is less than that gained through screen media.

Something that is far harder to evaluate is how accurately this reflects our everyday speech. Do we simply attribute this to lazy journalism, or is this a symptom indicative of modern English usage? Personally I suspect that the truth lies somewhere in between - journalists like to use some words more than others because of their impact value, whilst we probably choose to use the same words more often in our everyday speech for the same reason. Because certain words and phrases have higher impact value, they are more easily imprinted upon us and, as a result, more easily called to mind.

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Crazy Golf

Sunday, March 30th, 2008

Have you noticed that some words in the English language can be used to describe both positives and negatives? Adjust the perspective a little, or change context, and the meaning of the word shifts accordingly. The word crazy is one such example. A quick glimpse at the dictionary entry for crazy reveals that there are not just two ways of using this word, but perhaps a dozen, and some of these are positive and some negative.

By way of a demonstration, let us choose a subject completely at random. Golf, for instance. An ancient, noble pursuit of Gentlemen, for sure. According to my dear wife, however, those showing a passion for, or interest in, golf are to put it bluntly, crazy. They have taken leave of their senses, and should be locked away post haste before they hurt someone (this does not include Tiger Woods, a wealthy, successful professional who demands our respect - definitely not crazy). This is the negative aspect, which I shall name CrazyBad.

On the other hand, little Bobby Bunker is one such budding golf enthusiast. So much so that he is oft described as “golf crazy”. Now this is a good thing. Golf is Bobby’s main passion in life, and during his spare time you can be sure to find him at the driving range. One day, Bobby will of course win The Open, which will definitely be a good thing, especially for his agent. This is CrazyGood.

This shows that the trick here is simply one of context. Depending on our stance, we understand certain words as either positive or negative. So, whether you are CrazyBad or CrazyGood when it comes to golf (or any other subject of your choosing), rest assured that we understand and sympathise. And for the rest of us there is always crazy golf.

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