Journalese Journalese

Journalese - Definition and Overview

Related Words: Commercialism, Editorial, Legalese, Periodical, Serial

Journalese is the artificial or hyperbolic language regarded as characteristic of the popular media. Joe Grimm 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.

Examples of Journalese

"The governor Thursday ..."
"The Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of John F. Kennedy .."
"Mean streets and densely wooded areas populated by ever-present lone gunmen ..."
"Negotiators yesterday, in an eleventh-hour decision following marathon talks, hammered out agreement on a key wage provision they earlier had rejected."

Copy editors are sometimes afflicted by headlinese.

Further reading

  • Fritz Spiegl: Keep Taking the Tabloids. What the Papers Say and How They Say It (1983)

External links

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