What script terms do you hate?

[adam & doctor drew]

For me, it's the "That's What..." lead, otherwise known as Statement Without A Verb, followed by the explanation.

example: "Twelve Years In Jail...... That's what Joe Blow got for committing XYZ crime...."

[JoinUsForCake]

"preps" instead of preparations

"we'll tell ya" in teases
"we'll show ya" in teases

also, not a term, but writing copy that paraphrases the SOT immediately following it graemlins/face_banghead.gif

[ May 23, 2005, 01:29 AM: Message edited by: JoinUsForCake ]

[sinclairscared]

Not a script term exactly, but it drives me nuts nonetheless:
Efforting.
Someone called me from the network and asked if we were "efforting coverage" on something or another.
I replied "do people actually SAY that?"

[ May 23, 2005, 05:25 AM: Message edited by: sinclairscared ]

[3.58 mHZ]

Also not a term exactly, but PLEAE GOD Don't lead into a byte saying exactly what the upcoming quote is going to be!

[Bill Lumbergh]

I'm allegedly tired of allegedly saying one alleged word.

[SkyOne]

"...the driver failed to negotiate a curve..."

Please stop reading police reports verbatim! My biggest pet peeve is when news anchors do not speak in more conversational terms.

Maybe that should be "negotiated" in their contracts!!

[jrat33]

Life threatening injuries!!!!

[2:30]

Anything using a variant on the words horror or brutal.

[WXBen26]

irregardless, i'm dethawing my chicken from now on.

[mothball]

Jurors. Especially when pronounced "joo-rawrs."

[Media Hack]

Hmmm... where do I start...

"Full force"... this almost NEVER happens. It's only full force is EVERYONE is out.

"Ejected"... no one says ejected. They were thrown from the car at best... and they certainly weren't "ejected" from their motorcycle!!!!!

"Fled on foot"... I'm continuing my annoying "cop speak" rant.

"Allegedly"... one of the worst crutches in news. Attribute it. That's the way it should be done.

Damn, I could go on forever...

[LunchPenalty]

Anything that has to do with hyping the weather. Oh, and abbreviations like 'WX' and 'SPX'.

[Cadbury-Obsessed Newsmaker]

Another "alleged" hater here. Nine times out of ten there is a way to avoid it, it just depends if you're willing to do it.

Also, "watch this," "take a look at this," and all of their ilk. It's a visual medium. I think people watching is a given, and if they aren't watching, I don't know if that generic enticement is enough to get them to watch the screen.

[Shot A Load]

Originally posted by sinclairscared:
Not a script term exactly, but it drives me nuts nonetheless:
Efforting.
Someone called me from the network and asked if we were "efforting coverage" on something or another.
I replied "do people actually SAY that?"OUr ND had to send a note out telling reporters not to use that word since it really doesn't exist.

[CKMD]

"Lifeflighted" - I use my Force strangle hold on producers who use that.

"Officials" - official what? Call them what they are!

"Deputies" when it's a "Police Officer" or "Trooper" when it's a Deputy - learn your Law Enforcement Terms!!!

"Here's what he/she had to say" - that's the laziest way to get into a sot!!!

I have more...they'll come to me when I start reading scripts tonight.

[Sid]

In other news...

[NewsMom]

Routine Traffic Stop - ain't no such thing - ask ANY cop.

And, please ladies and gentlemen stop referring to any event in which someone died as an INCIDENT.

"Oh, and incidentally, your family member died."

Death is never an incident. (Though I bet I'm opening the way for some clever retorts).

[SkyOne]

Penal...penile...or pianist.

All of them cause viewers (and me) to chuckle. :D

Also..."welcome back" when returning from a break. We never left. graemlins/eusa_doh.gif

[Obewon]

I try to work in "It's a parent's worst nightmare" into every show at least once

[Brick]

Originally posted by SkyOne:
Also..."welcome back" when returning from a break. We never left. graemlins/eusa_doh.gif You went to commercial-land, and now you're back to regular programming. You didn't want to, or try to, but you did leave.

[imported_Hammer]

One summer there was a horrid murder, one man killed his (ex?)girlfriend and her 4 or 5 children plus one other local man at a different location.

Later, seperate incident, the remains of a nine-year old boy were dug up in a local basement.

I heard the term 'grizzley' a few too many times that year. bleh.

[Good Witch]

"Blaze" -- I hate that word, especially if it's only a house fire. Say it if an entire forest is destroyed.

Or anchors trying to sneak their name font cg's in four times per block, like I won't notice or production will actually take it.

[Kace]

"We begin tonight with Breaking News..."

[luckystrike]

Back in the day - some writers used to say an inmate was "lodged" in the Cook County jail.
Made me visualize a guy in prison orange lounging about on a hotel bed, watching cable. :rolleyes:

[booyah]

Ooh...a chance to share my growing list of BANNED script items I like to share with the newbie producers. Feel free to correct me, or add to it:

LUCKY TO BE ALIVE THIS MORNING - aren't we all?!?? Cliché.

"COMPLETELY DESTROYED" -redundant. By definition, destruction IS complete.

IS BEING CALLED A HERO - presumptive, and too literal anyway for use in terms of most of your basic hero stories. Unless someone IS literally being called a hero.

LOST HIS/HER LIFE - not conversational. I would never say, "I can't come in today, my grandmother lost her life." No, I would say, "I can't come in today, my grandmother died." Or passed away, even. But not "lost her life."

KEPT CREWS BUSY - redundant, in a sense. Crews are, by nature, busy. Unless they're idle, which might be more newsworthy, depending on why. As in, "AN EARLY MORNING FIRE KEPT CREWS BUSY..." Well, is there any other way for a crew to be BESIDES busy when there's a fire??

PICKING UP THE PIECES -cliche.

EVERYONE KNOWS...-extremely presumptive, and can exclude viewers unnecessarily.

"YOU MIGHT NOT REALIZE..." - presumptive and exclusive

YOU MAY RECALL...- or you may not. Besides, I prefer "might" in most cases, because "may" means it is possible for something to happen, not necessarily that it's a possibility that it's going to, while might means something actually "could" happen.
First, determine whether it is even relevant to the story and appropriate. A better way to refer to an earlier story, if you must, is to say, "LAST NIGHT WE TOLD YOU ABOUT THE SEARCH FOR A MISSING NINE YEAR OLD GIRL. THIS MORNING, SHE IS SAFE AT HOME, THANKS TO AN ALERT VIEWER." Or, since we do this, "A NINE YEAR OLD GIRL MISSING SINCE LAST WEEK HAS BEEN FOUND. AFTER AIRING THE GIRL'S PICTURE LAST NIGHT HERE ON "KNUZ", POLICE RECIEVED TIPS..." See what I mean?

RESEARCHERS/OFFICIALS SAY - tired, overused, weak way of attempting attribution. Be more specific if possible. If you can't be more specific, you have a problem.

IT HAPPENED/IT ALL HAPPENED -- it "ALL" happened is worse, because "part" of something can't really happen, can it? It either happens or it doesn't. Either way, instead of saying, "IT ALL HAPPENED AROUND 9:30 LAST NIGHT, WHEN A NEIGHBOR SAW SMOKE COMING FROM AN UPSTAIRS WINDOW AND CALLED 9-1-1..." If it doesn't add to the story, take it out: "AROUND 9:30 LAST NIGHT, A NEIGHBOR SAW SMOKE COMING FROM AN UPSTAIRS WINDOW AND CALLED 9-1-1."

(crime, the price of oil, obesity, whatever)...IS ON THE RISE.- cliché.

(SO AND SO IS) SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS... - weak. Depending on the context, there is almost always a better way to say it. Trust me.

...MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS...-cliche, a waste of space and time.

UP IN ARMS - cliche

[booyah]

Ha - I see I've failed to add a couple of my most recent "favorites;"

"BEHIND BARS"

"STANDS ACCUSED"

"TURNED UP MISSING"

"WHETHER OR NOT"

[ May 24, 2005, 11:56 AM: Message edited by: Booyah Fett ]

[HappyMadison]

"...I'm Joe Blow and I'll have that story coming up in a live report."

You're live!?!? What!?!? And you're going to tell me that story...no way! Are you that unoriginal that you can't come up with a new thought that actually...teases?

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally posted by Brick Tamland:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by SkyOne:
Also..."welcome back" when returning from a break. We never left. graemlins/eusa_doh.gif You went to commercial-land, and now you're back to regular programming. You didn't want to, or try to, but you did leave.</font>[/QUOTE]keith olbermann said it years ago: "don't say welcome back. the viewer didn't go anywhere, YOU did.'

[luckystrike]

The very worst?

If you think _________, think again.

[TV Lady]

-Authorities (authority of what)
-Alleged (attribute)
-Arrested without Incident (how about just arrested)
-Be that as it may (waste of words)
-Fled on Foot (ran)
-Vehicle (when we know its a car or suv- say car)
-Struck (hit)
-Details (when is the last time you told someone, I have the details on anything)
-Also, when reporters write the anchor intro---Joe Blow has more. Once in a while fine, but its taking the easy way out.
-Also, reporters who put their entire story in the anchor intro---why watch the pkg.
-All for a good cause--(sometimes I say it myself but it is overused)