The last time out, I told you about Dr. Albert Lonsdale Roper II’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion that The Pilot slap monetary fines on staffers responsible for factual and grammatical errors.
That prompted a reader to mail a right-on to the suggestion.
“Great idea,” the person wrote, “but please add another fault which could be grounds for a fine: The use of the term expert!
“It seems that an expert is referred to in just about every page of every section. If this country has so many experts, we would not be in the bad shape we’re in now.”
The reader is right on both points. An awful lot of experts populate the media. I’m not sure who’s the worst offender — print or broadcast.
Indeed, reporters are routinely told to call a couple of experts and get their take on the subject at hand.
The e-mailer’s comments got me thinking about some of my pet peeves when it comes to media clichs.
Black leaders and the black community top my list. Indeed, they practically count as one offense because they frequently hold hands in the same stories.
How often have you seen the terms white leaders or the white community? Practically never, I assure you.
If a white person who heads a civic league or organization offers an opinion on an issue in the news, he or she is traditionally identified as the head of the league or organization. More likely, a black person will be called a black leader — a black leader offering the thinking of the black community. As if the community is a monolith, its inhabitants being of like mind.
What hackneyed phrases and words do you see frequently in The Pilot that tick you off? I want to know.
So call me, fax me, or e-mail me and let me know. Tell why the words or expressions bother you.
To prick your thoughts, here are a few clichs, gleaned from a similar undertaking at The Sacramento Bee in California: Bottom line, critics say, and at a time when.
Same Old Pics, Part II: Earlier this month, I promised to chat with deputy managing editor Denis Finley about occasional reader requests that we add new photographs to the ones we publish daily on Page A2 with the 24-Hour Weather Snapshot.
Finley, who’s in charge of presentation, was on vacation at the time, but I recalled a conversation we had had last fall in which he said he’d consider adding more photos this year.
Well, it ain’t gonna happen. There are “no plans” to change the photos — “at least for the near future,” Finley says.
Which means that readers will continue to see the same 31 photos about 12 times a year. The report is put together by an outside service.
“The time and labor involved in producing the weather snapshot make it inefficient to change it as frequently as some readers would like,” Finley said. “We plan to use the same rotation of photos for at least two years. We started on Sept. 25, 2000.”
I understand Finley’s position, but I also agree with readers who would like to see different photos — especially ones showing off the region’s attractions. The Pilot is noted for its excellent photography, and the 24-Hour Weather Snapshot offers a showcase for such photography as well as an opportunity to spotlight the area’s attractive architecture.
Mostly sunny: The sun has gone behind the clouds.
Have you noticed? Hey, stop looking at the sky. Check out the front page of The Pilot, up in the right-hand corner where we have the weather forecast icon.
For a long time, a mostly sunny forecast was depicted by a full sun in front of a cloud. It looked, some readers said, like an egg, sunny side up.
It was wrong, scientifically, they argued.
But it stayed, the justification doubtless being, “What’s the big deal?”
Lately, you may have noticed — as a couple of readers did and e-mailed us thanks — that the sun’s gone behind the clouds.
A few times, I must confess, we goofed and used the old icon. Be patient. We’ll get it right.
Say what? Occasionally something in the paper provides a good laugh — sometimes unintentionally.
Take this item from the July 1 Celebrations page, the one about Richard Williams and his wife, Margaret, celebrating 60 years of marriage. It noted that the couple has “four children and spouses.”
Frank Fyre couldn’t resist calling to rib us about a sentence he read Wednesday in an Associated Press story (“Jamaican army deployed to quell violence: Gunfighting between politically affiliated gangs has left 21 dead”).
Here’s the sentence: “One of the police deaths came Tuesday when an officer was hit in the head by a rock thrown by protesters 40 miles from Montego Bay.”
“I think I know what it means,” Fyre said, “but it sounds like he’s got one heck of an arm.”
