Journalese
Encyclopedia
Journalese is the artificial or hyperbolic
, and sometimes over-abbreviated, language regarded as characteristic of the popular media. Joe Grimm, formerly of the Detroit Free Press
, likened journalese to a "stage voice": "We write journalese out of habit, sometimes from misguided training, and to sound urgent, authoritative and, well, journalistic. But it doesn't do any of that."
Copy editors
are sometimes afflicted by headlinese
.
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally....
, and sometimes over-abbreviated, language regarded as characteristic of the popular media. Joe Grimm, formerly of the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
, likened journalese to a "stage voice": "We write journalese out of habit, sometimes from misguided training, and to sound urgent, authoritative and, well, journalistic. But it doesn't do any of that."
Examples
- "The governorGovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Thursday announced ..." (date used as adverb) - "The Nov. 22, 1963, assassinationAssassinationTo carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
..." (date used as adjective) - "Mean streets and densely wooded areas populated by ever-present lone gunmen ..."
- "Negotiators yesterday, in an eleventh-hourTime limitA time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished.In project management, deadlines are most often associated with milestone goals....
decision following marathonMarathonThe marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
talks, hammered out agreement on a key wageWageA wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor.Compensation in terms of wages is given to workers and compensation in terms of salary is given to employees...
provision they earlier had rejected." - See "a bus plunged into a gorgeBus plungeBus plunge stories are a nickname for a journalistic practice of reporting bus mishaps in short articles that invariably describe the vehicle as "plunging" from a bridge or hillside road...
" for a common type of gap-filler article.- "Calls this morning for tighter restrictions on the sale of alcohol to immigrants."
- "Whoosh … whoosh … whoosh … ka-boooom. That’s the way it was at WanganuiWanganuiWhanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
’s Cooks Gardens, for about 15 minutes on Saturday night." (genitive of placename instead of preposition) - "Rioting and mayhemMayhem (crime)Mayhem is a criminal offence consisting of the intentional maiming of another person.Under the common law of England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions, it originally consisted of the intentional and wanton removal of a body part that would handicap a person's ability to defend himself in...
..." (this example has led to popular misunderstanding causing the word "mayhem" to change its main meaning.) - "Attack" to mean "criticise", because it typesets into less space in headlineHeadlineThe headline is the text at the top of a newspaper article, indicating the nature of the article below it.It is sometimes termed a news hed, a deliberate misspelling that dates from production flow during hot type days, to notify the composing room that a written note from an editor concerned a...
s. This may cause ambiguity if a physical or military attack is possible between the parties named. - "Foes ink pact", "Cops nab crooks after heist" (rare or archaic words chosen over more commonly used words in order to save space)
- "The 1990s saw an increase in crime...." instead of the simpler "Crime increased in the 1990s...." (the use of "saw" to avoid using the past tense of "increase")
Copy editors
Copy editing
Copy editing is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of text. Unlike general editing, copy editing might not involve changing the substance of the text. Copy refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, or publication...
are sometimes afflicted by headlinese
Headlinese
Headlinese is nonconversational, abbreviated writing style used in newspaper headlines.-Syntax:Because space is limited, headlines are written in a compressed telegraphic style, using special syntactic conventions:...
.
Further reading
- Fritz SpieglFritz SpieglFritz Spiegl was born at Zurndorf, Austria, the son of an agricultural merchant and his Jewish wife. He became a musician, journalist, broadcaster, humorist and collector who lived and worked in England from 1939....
: Keep Taking the Tabloids. What the Papers Say and How They Say It (1983) - Joe Grimm: "There is no ease in journalese"