Monthly Archives: October 2015

There’s Nothing Hollow About Halloween

Many of us have had a teacher, either in high school, college, or tech school, who insisted on proper vowel sounds, and there’s usually one member of the grammar police in every newsroom! One of my former colleagues said she had a teacher at UW-Milwaukee who would give an “F” to anyone making a class presentation who said “M’waukee” – failing to pronounce the “l”. She said one student who was the recipient of an “F” for the infraction said “but nobody really pronounces the “l” in “Milwaukee”! This precipitated a rant from the teacher, who said it was the responsibility of broadcasters to properly pronounce words.

In a newsroom discussion years ago in the Fox Valley, we debated how to actually determine proper pronunciation of some Wisconsin place-names, particularly ones that are pronounced differently even by people who live in the community. The subject at hand was the Winnebago County city of Omro. Most folks pronounce it the way it looks – “OM-roe” – but, as my former colleague pointed out, a lot of people who live there actually pronounce it with an additional “r”  – “ARM-roe”.

At least with someone’s name, the convention is to pronounce it the way the person does.  Just ask Brett Favre.

No debate is necessary in the internet age; this section of the WBA Newsroom provides answers on how to correctly pronounce just about any Wisconsin place-name or public official’s name.

At this time of year, you’ll hear as many broadcasters say “HOL-oh-ween” as those who pronounce it properly, “HAL-oh-ween”, which is proper. It’s a shortened form of “All Hallows’ Evening”.

Same with Daylight Saving Time. There’s no “s” on the end of “Saving”.

At least there’s no debate about which way we adjust the clocks.  Enjoy that “extra hour of sleep” Sunday morning.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

Unsure About How To Pronounce A Wisconsin Place-Name? Here’s Help.

If you’re a recent transplant to Wisconsin you’ve already discovered that our state has some dandy place-names, many of which come down from Native American words and names, like the famous “Oconomowoc”. But there are other challenging place-names, like Rio. Is it “ree-oh” or “rye-oh”?  This section of the WBA Newsroom site has the definitive pronunciations of place-names and public officials in Wisconsin.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

Want To Write For An RTDNA Publication? Here’s Your Chance

The Radio-TV Digital News Association is looking for writers – content creators – to write about journalism topics for the Association’s array of platforms. Information is here.

Note: You need to be an RTDNA member to apply, and there are numerous benefits to membership. All you need to know regarding this opportunity is at the link.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

Five Things You Can Learn From Newsroom Veterans

What is the old saying? Age and experience will overcome youth and enthusiasm? Those of us who’ve been around the news business for a while would probably trade some of our experience for the superior energy of the younger folks in the newsroom, but be that as it may, this short article from Poynter covers the topic nicely.

Posted by Tim Morrissey