Too many words?

Staffers on our copy desk produce a collection of good headlines, grammar and style rules and other words of wisdom related to the language, entitled Notes and Notices, that is distributed to journalists across our newsroom. The latest issue has a reminder to avoid pleonasms, the use of more words than necessary to express an idea clearly. The examples cited appeared recently in The Sun News - free gifts (all gifts are free), underground tunneling, foreign imports and safe haven. Another personal favorite is tuna fish.

Have any of your own to share?

Comments

[Sandy]

Do the editors have anything to say about this? The poster on your Vacation/Relocatin board brings up a very valid point about sloppy, incomplete reporting and the lack of follow-up:

From: Beachmonky76 Sep-7 9:31 am
To: ALL (1 of 14)

1093.1

MB man dies in Florida crash
By Tonya Root - The Sun News
A Myrtle Beach died in a crash on Interstate 95 in Florida, according to an official with the Florida Highway Patrol.

Information about the man and the crash in Brevard County, Fla., will be posted when it is available.

Now why would you report this unless you had a name to go with it. Anyone reading this with a relative in Fla. is going to be upset by it, until they can get in contact with their loved one. It's half assed

Go out and find some news instead of sitting on your butt reading a news wire.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited 9/8/2007 6:22 am ET by Beachmonky76

Options Reply

[Mike]

Pleonasms? How 'bout your July 3, '07 blog headline- "Lying Politians"? Keep up the good work!

[chris]

Several comments come to mind after ready thru some of the articles here. First, the media is the source we need to rely on and turn to, to get unbiased factual information. In my opinion if the media( print, Radio , and Television would report the fact and uncover the deception and in a clear concise manner instead of embellishing and slanting the facts to make better reading or to entertain we would be in business. Thought, when was the last time we saw how our representatives voted on legislations, why haven't we read or heard about Hillary's past 8 years in the Senate, and uncover the facts while they were in the White house. We have more interesting stories each day about topics of where people are helping other and doing great deeds..Maybe the media needs to bring these stories to the forefront.

If you want to be a journalist then lets get back to uncovering and reporting the facts. It makes no difference as to the color or race of a criminal, I don't care much about that. I do care about business and political leaders taking advantage of the system for personal gain, at the expense of the working class. I do care that our government is turning a blind eye to persons in this country illegally.Does that mean we can choose which laws we as citizen want to obey and which ones we don't?
IT'S TIME WE AS AMERICAN CITIZENS DEMANDED THAT OUR ELECTED OFFICIAL, OUR BUSINESS LEADERS OUR GOVERNMENT BE SET TO A HIGHER STANDARD AND THAT OUR MEDIA START DOING THE JOB THAT YOU ARE ENTRUSTED WITH. WE CAN DO GREAT THINGS, OR WE CAN DO ONLY THAT TO GET BY.. WHERE WOULD WE BE TODAY IF OUR PREDECESSORS ONLY DID WHAT IT TOOK TO GET BY?

FOLKS OUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON EACH ONE OF US...NOT JUST OUR LEADERS BUT EACH AND EVERYONE OF US...FROM PICKING UP TRASH IN OUR NEIGHBOR HOOD, TO QUESTIONING OUR LEARDERS, TO SPEAKING OUT....SPEAK OUT DAILY
YOUR VOICE NEEDS AND SHOULD BE HEARD AND NOW.
START NOW AND MAKE A PLEDGE TO MAKE TODAY AND TOMORROW THE BEST FOR YOU, FOR YOUR FAMILY, AND FOR OUR SOCIETY.
WE SHOULD ADOPT AS A LITMUS TEST FROM THIS DAY FORWARD...instead of whats in it for me maybe we should think along these terms...IS WHAT I DO TODAY IN THE BEST INTEREST OF MY FAMILY,MY SELF, MY NEIGHBORS, MY COMMUNITY, MY COUNTRY, THE PLANET?

Thank you for your time and I hope this will spark some future debates and comments.

[Moofy]

The Local Section of the Sun News 12/17/2007 lists the Special Meeting of the Loris City Council at 7 PM.
I just came back from city hall because the meeting was really held at 6 PM.
Who's Right and who's wromh ???
Is this just another example of the Sloppy Reporting that a lot of readers claim of the paper ???

[Moofy]

oops, my sloppy typing on prior post

[Eden Carroll-Weiss]

In further comment to Mike. I was watching TV news and saw a reporter inject his personal opinion which was disgusting. He was supposed to be reporting. We have enough commentators.

[Eden Carroll-Weiss]

sorry i posted the comment in the wrohg place.

past experience

and

null and void