WBA NewsroomHere’s a link to a wonderful list of redundancies you hear every day on newscasts all over the nation. Convicted felon? (Is there another kind? You have to be convicted to be a felon.) Brutal rape? (Are there gentle rapes?) Online websites? (Are there websites which aren’t online?)
Most people who write only for broadcast learned from a newsroom mentor the topic covered in the first sentence of this article – there’s no need to characterize news as sad, bad, happy, or whatever – news is news. You see quite a few of these redundant references in online writing, with stories headlined as being “sad news from ____”. Your readers, listeners, or viewers will decide for themselves if the news is sad or happy. It’s just our job to report it.
Unthaw, revert back, past history – the list is long, and I’m sure experienced writers can add to it.
Posted by Tim Morrissey