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Archive:
August 12, 2003
BBC's style guide
BBC News set the benchmark for coverage in the Iraq War. Now you too can at least write as they do by following the
BBC News Style Guide. It's in PDF at
http://www.bbctraining.co.uk/pdfs/newsStyleGuide.pdf, and is free to anyone who wants to use it. Though written mainly for broadcasters, it would be of use to any journo.
Posted by belinda at
12:45 PM
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June 19, 2003
Cut to the chase
Deloitte Consulting has released some jargon-busting software, called
Bullfighter, to help improve business communications. Anyone can use it - even business journos - to try to eliminate the incomprehensible. The software bolts on to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and can be downloaded for free from Deloitte's site at
http://www.dc.com/insights/bullfighter/downloads.asp. The
New York Times has a story (registration required) called
New software flags verbiage in business documents at
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-life-language.html.
Posted by belinda at
02:26 PM
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May 07, 2003
Dictionary definitions
I've got one at home and use it all the time but, till now, I was unaware that you could search the
Collins Dictionary online. The company is definitely hiding its light under a bushel on this one, with the dictionary housed at what looks like a generic all-purpose dictionary/translation site called WordReference (
http://www.wordreference.com/). Only
after you type in a word and get the results does the
Collins logo appear. To make things even harder, the
English Definition section, which is where you check spellings and definitions of words, is at the very bottom of a list of options, all of which are about translation. Once you type in a word, you get the phonetic pronounciation, the etymology and the meaning. This version is based on the 2000 print version of the
Collins English Dictionary.
Posted by belinda at
12:59 PM
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March 28, 2003
New cliches for old
NewsLab, a not-for-profit organisation associated with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York, has assembled
Buzz Words and Catch Phrases: A Glossary for Our Changing World, which has terms for "people, places, agencies, technology, jargon and cliches used in the aftermath of the [September 11] attack on the United States." Homeland security is there among many others. It's at
http://www.newslab.org/terrorgloss.htm.
Posted by journoz at
10:17 AM
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March 17, 2003
Euphemism Central?
The US military have put up a very large dictionary, in PDF format, of military terms they use.
C for collateral damage, anyone? Find it at
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf.
Posted by journoz at
09:01 AM
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