What journalists should not say

It might be interesting to write a poem out of these phrases

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/to-be-sure-journalists-can-avoid-cliches/2013/03/22/71578f54-9318-11e2-8ea1-956c94b6b5b9_print.html?utm_term=.e519dbde167f

 

At first glance

As a society (or “as a nation”)

Observers

Pundits say (or “critics say”)

The American people (unless in a quote)

The narrative (unless referring to a style of writing)

Probe (as substitute for “investigation”)

A rare window (unless we’re talking about a real window that is in fact rare)

Begs the question (unless used properly — and so rarely used properly that not worth it)

Be that as it may

It is important to note that

Needless to say

[Anything] 2.0 (or 3.0, or 4.0 . . .)

At a crossroads

Inside the Beltway

Outside the box/Out of the box

Underscored

Midwife (as a verb that does not involve childbirth)

Palpable sense of relief

Rorschach test (unless it is a real one)

The Other

Effort (as a verb)

Gestalt/Zeitgeist

Little-noticed (that just means the writer hadn’t noticed it)

The [anything] community

Hastily convened

Ignominious end

Tightly knit community

In the final analysis

At the end of the day

Literally (unless quoting Vice President Biden)

Ultimately (especially as first word of last graf)

Redux

Rise of the 24-hour news cycle (it rose a long time ago)

Remains to be seen

Feeding frenzy/feeding the frenzy

Double down

[Anything]-gate

Dons the mantle of

Political theater

Hot-button issue

Face-saving compromise

The argument goes (or its cousin, “the thinking goes”)

Shutter (as a verb)

Part and parcel

Demurred

It is what it is

The new normal

Paradigm shift (in journalism, all paradigms are shifting)

Unlikely revolutionary (in journalism, all revolutionaries are unlikely)

Unlikely reformer (in journalism, all reformers are unlikely)

Grizzled veteran (in journalism, all veterans are grizzled — unless they are “seasoned”)

Manicured lawns (in journalism, all nice lawns are manicured)

Rose from obscurity (in journalism, all rises are from obscurity)

Dizzying array (in journalism, all arrays make one dizzy)

Withering criticism (in journalism, all criticism is withering)

Predawn raid (in journalism, all raids are predawn)

Sparked debate (or “raised questions”)

Ironic Capitalizations Implying Unimportance of Things Others Consider Important

Provides fresh details

But reality/truth is more complicated (oversimplify, then criticize the oversimplification)

Scarred by war

Main Street vs. Wall Street

Shines a spotlight on (unless there is a real spotlight that really shines)

No silver bullet

Shifting dynamics

Situation is fluid (code for “I have no idea what is going on”)

Partisans on both sides

Charm offensive

Pushback

Going forward

Stinging rebuke

The proverbial TK (“proverbial” doesn’t excuse the cliche, just admits you used it knowingly)

Fevered speculation

Oft-cited

Iconic

Growing body of evidence (in journalism, no bodies of evidence ever shrink)

Increasingly (unless we prove in the story that something is in fact increasing)

Tapped (as substitute for “selected” or “appointed”)

Any “not un-” formulation (as in “not unsurprising”)

There, I said it (more self-important than “voicey”)

To be sure

Read more from Outlook, friend us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.