Memo puts WGN news staffers at a loss for words

[Ralph Wiggum]

Sure, you’d think the chief executive officer of a company struggling to emerge from bankruptcy and desperate to salvage an $8 billion buyout-gone-bad would have better things to do than pester his underlings with crazy proclamations. But in the case of Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels, you’d be wrong.

The man at the top of the troubled media empire took time out of his real job this week to issue a list of words and phrases — 119 of them, to be exact — that must never, ever be uttered by anchors or reporters on WGN-AM (720), the news/talk radio station located five floors below his office in Tribune Tower.

Believe me, I’m not making this up.

WGN news director Charlie Meyerson, good soldier that he is, passed on what he identified as Michaels’ “list of forbidden ‘newsspeak’ words and phrases” in a memo to his staff Monday, with the explicit warning: “Don’t say them on WGN.”

The banned words include:

- Authorities

- Bare naked

- Clash with police

- Diva

- In the wake of (unless it's a boating story)

- Killing spree

- Manhunt

- Underwent surgery

- White stuff


Full list at BIZZARO LINK

[Eupher]

Firewall keeps me from going to the link.

"White stuff"? - is this guy so strung out on cocaine that he can't stand hearing or seeing the two words "white stuff"?

Some of those words are probably trite and banal and should be stricken from humanity.

But I can't see 'em all. 

[Ralph Wiggum]

Firewall keeps me from going to the link.

"White stuff"? - is this guy so strung out on cocaine that he can't stand hearing or seeing the two words "white stuff"?

Some of those words are probably trite and banal and should be stricken from humanity.

But I can't see 'em all. 

It's from a Chicago news blog.  Odd that it would be blocked.

The rest of the list is just as ridiculous.

[NHSparky]

It's from a Chicago news blog.  Odd that it would be blocked.

The rest of the list is just as ridiculous.

Sounds like the "Clear Channel Banned Songs List" that came out just after 9/11.  That was fake as hell, and I'm not all that sure this isn't fake too.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Sounds like the "Clear Channel Banned Songs List" that came out just after 9/11.  That was fake as hell, and I'm not all that sure this isn't fake too.

I don't know, the blog writer was the media critic at the Chicago Sun-Times for nearly 30 years.  I'm sure he made some mistakes over the years, but I usually tend to trust his writing.

[Ralph Wiggum]

But I can't see 'em all. 

You're right, most are cliches.  I'd post the list but it is awfully long.

[The Village Idiot]

The ones posted are all stupid things to use in a "professional" news media anyway