Chris Pash's Blog, page 6

Cliche of the Week 80 – Deep Pockets

Deep pockets are desperately needed to fix financial woes resistant to most normal forms of treatment.

But those who have money in secret compartments sewn into their smart clothes first have to be persuaded to dig deep.

These pockets appear in mainstream news reports around the world at a rate of about 700 a month, up from about 200 two years ago.

Most, but not all, of the references are in business news, where money is nearly always the main story.

"The latest chapter in what residents call a David v Goliath battle against a corporation with deep pockets" (The New York Times, February 10).

"Hedge funds or others with deep pockets could provide some support, but it will come at a cost" (Dow Jones International News, January 25).

"Two octogenarian legends of the turf are likely to become the centre of attention at next week's 2012 Karaka Yearling Sale, one with an uncanny eye for horseflesh and the other with deep pockets." (The New Zealand Herald, January 28).

The plan of an obviously overpaid footballer for a four-storey, 25,000-litre aquarium: "To maintain a decorative feature like this without letting it ruin your life requires very deep pockets indeed. And you don't even get to eat the fish." (The Guardian, February 21).

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 79 – Patchwork Economy

The economy is either a patchwork stitched with fraying thread or it has two speeds– turbo-charged full speed ahead or a jolting reverse.

News reports use these easy labels for Australia's economy up to 500 times a month from a low of 20 a month two years ago.

According to the Factiva database, Julia Gillard used "patchwork economy" publicly for the first time on October 12, 2010, at the Queensland Media Club in Brisbane.

However, the phrase was in use long before that.

It appears in 1986 in The Washington Post and the following year in Canada, a country that also has a mining boom and uneven economic growth.

Jack McArthur could have been describing Australia when writing in the Toronto Star in 1987: "Canada has always been a crazy quilt of stark contrasts existing side by side — boom and bust, soaring optimism and deep despair, fat-cat complacency and bitterness at what are seen as failures to meet the difficulties of areas under-privileged at any moment."

More recently other parts of the world have started to identify more than one gear.

"Brazil, however, has not been immune to the global economic slowdown, with evidence developing of a `two-speed' economy" (Financial Times, November 18).

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays.

Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 78 – In the trenches

Sporting, political and business heroes have grown weary of the long and bloody battle in the trenches.

In a famous speech to rally the British in World War II, Winston Churchill repeated the line "we shall fight them" and named various places, including in the trenches.

But since then the impact has dulled, with the phrase applied in the mainstream media 1000 times a month, up from 300 two years ago.

A lot of the mentions appear in reports on American football, along the lines of  "This game will be won in the trenches".

The gridiron area where opposing linesmen battle is often called the trenches, and saying a game will be won or lost there is stating the obvious.

It's similar in politics. "After a long year in the trenches, Julia Gillard is confident she will be around long enough to lead Labor into battle at the next election." (Herald-Sun, December 17)

"Mitt Romney set out in Florida this week to prove he could get down in the trenches and duke it out with Newt Gingrich." (The Boston Globe, January 27)

And again: "Mr Romney has tapped some advisers who fought in the trenches during the Bush administration in the war against `Islamic extremists'." (The Washington Times, January 19)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays.

Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 77 – Worst Nightmare

NIGHTMARES come in degrees, some minor, others with cold sweats and shivering, but the worst nightmare is the one to be wary of.

These bad dreams infect life at all levels and are reported up to 700 times a month in mainstream news outlets.

No one really knows what an individual's worst nightmare might be, but sport attracts a lot of them, mainly when the planets converge to bring two fierce teams together.

Headlines are made when parents face unusual horror. "Yvonne Upton was forced to suffer every parent's worst nightmare — bury her son after his murder in cold blood." (Burton Mail, Britain, January 25).

"It's like every parent's worst nightmare." After a dog bit the ear off a six-year-old girl. (The Telegraph, London, January 31).

"It's a taxpayer's worst nightmare: the letter in the mail from the Internal Revenue Service." (The Daily Review, Pennsylvania, January 29). Soccer:

"Only at the end did it reveal itself as Patrice Evra's worst nightmare." (The Times, January 30).

Ironman: "Holmes expects the younger brigade to shine on the sand at Perth today, labelling the endurance format his worst nightmare." (Sun-Herald, January 29).

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays.

Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 76 – Lucky to be Alive

More people are Lucky to be alive today than two years ago as they dodge lightning, fight killer bugs and are plucked from raging seas.

This one sits with lucky escape as stating the obvious.

The reader will decide, based on the facts, whether someone is lucky to be alive or whether they were in the right place to escape injury or made the right decisions which kept them from major harm.

Lucky to be alive is used about 450 times a month in the global media, up from 150 two years ago.

"A Perth father is lucky to be alive after being struck by lightning early on Friday morning." (dailytelegraph.com.au, January 23). So lucky that he videoed the strike.

"A seriously ill child who fought the killer bug that has claimed the lives of three premature babies is lucky to be alive today." (Belfast Telegraph, January 21)

"Two local children are lucky to be alive after being pulled from the water in a dramatic rescue off Papamoa beach." (Bay of Plenty Times, September 20)

"A DeLand couple say they are lucky to be alive after a police officer opened fire near their house, hitting two men, the couple's dog and grazing their infant daughter's foot with debris." (Daytona Beach News Journal, Florida, January 23)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays.

Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

 

Cliché of the Week – Resting Easy

From 'in a nutshell' in January to a 'can of worms'  in December, Cliché of the Week covered 45 over-used journalistic phrases in 2012.

Cliché of the Week is taking a break at the beach to read newspapers and, hopefully, turn research into readable words for a new book (a biography of Canadian Bob Hunter). Back in late January.

Thank you to all who suggested clichés in 2012. Keep sending them in.

And think about the honour of being the 2012 Byline Madness Laureate by creating a cliché ridden sentence of no more than 50 words. More on that later.

Here's this year's list of journalistic cliches:

In a nutshell; Golden Opportunity; Fighting for Life; Uphill Battle; Eye-popping; Doing it Tough; Fast-paced; On the Table; Elephant in the Room; Landslide; Hit the Ground Running; A Raft of Measures; Hardcore; Mystery Surrounds; Lucky Escape; New Normal; On the go; Run for your money; Meteoric Rise; Game Changer; Brutal Murder; Innocent Victim; Far reaching; Race against time; Foregone Conclusion; Regime Changes; Bucket List; Kick the Can; Learning Curve; Legend; Strongman; Informed Sources; Feral; Outcomes; Like a toy; Left little to the imagination; Quality Journalism; World-Class; Truthiness; Completely Destroyed; Political Assassination; An Early Christmas; De Rigueur; Clinging to Life; Hit the Big Time; Can of Worms

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays.

Cliches are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Cliche of the Week 75 – Can of Worms

Worms better used as fish bait are oozing their way into news reports via carelessly unattended cans.

These dirt feeders slide in as a can of worms, meaning something troublesome, better left alone.

Better still to leave it out and say what happened.

The use of the phrase has doubled over the past two years to about 300 times every month in various reporting around the world.

"A big sticking point will be (German Chancellor Angela ) Merkel's insistence on renegotiating the Lisbon treaty, with many member states fearing that will mean opening a can of worms, sparking a lengthy, acrimonious bout of horse-trading." (The Guardian, December 6).

"A Senate inquiry into the issue has opened a can of worms so full that it extended the time open for submissions by six months." (The Advertiser, December 3).

"There's a can of worms at risk of being opened depending on how this lower cost manifests." (The Globe and Mail, December 2).

"Saying no to a snake-charmer literally opened a can of worms for the district administration officials in Basti on Tuesday.

"An angry 'sapera' opened his sack of snakes, and within no time, there were snakes all over the place." (The Times of India, December 2).

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays.

Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

 

Cliche of the Week 74 – Hit the Big Time

Hitting the big time is a regular reachable dream for those who write, act, make films or play sport.

Up to 150 people hit the big time each month in news reports in the mainstream media around the world.

It is better to leave the phrase out and show or define how the individual's or group's success has arrived. Readers will work it out themselves.

"An Alice Springs-raised actor looks set to hit the big time when she stars in a blockbuster to be filmed in the Northern Territory" (Northern Territory News, November 30).

"A director has hit the big time after the short film he made on the Curry Mile for just pound stg. 1.75 scooped a pound stg. 30,000 prize" (Manchester Evening News, November 17).

Soccer: "After winning 71 Northern Ireland caps from 1991 to 2004, nothing would thrill him (Michael Hughes) more than to see his country hit the big time again" (The Belfast Telegraph, November 12).

"Remember the name Husky, because the band is about to hit the big time" (The Ballarat Courier, November 10).

"Former Trinity student (Tana) French hit the big time with her debut thriller In The Woods and her latest is another bestseller both in Europe and the US" (Irish Independent, November 7).

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays.

Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Byline Madness Laureate

Many dug deep in the fertile fields of crime, politics and sport in a desperate bid to snatch the honour of being the inaugural Byline Madness Laureate.

They had to create a sentence of no more than 50 words inserting as many journalistic cliches as possible. Extra points if the sentence made some sort of sense.

Consider this fine example from Leith Phillips, who now wears the mantle of Australia's first Byline Madness Laureate: "The innocent victims were fighting for their lives after being viciously attacked and savagely beaten by a mysterious gang of drug-crazed accountants who informed sources say escaped miraculously at the 11th hour from shark-infested waters while probing new era bottom of the harbour regimes destined to become game-changing core practices."

It is exactly 50 words, contains at least 17 cliches and makes sense, almost. I am told he did this quickly and without thinking too hard, as all the best stories are created.

Some of the 25 entrants started well but carelessly typed jargon instead of cliches. Many used the loved crime story, a thick chapter in the cliche handbook.

David Mussared sent this: "Detectives stumbled on the grisly find while sifting through the ashes after Wednesday's suspicious warehouse fire in Victoria's notorious underbelly district, lifting the lid on a grim tragedy which has shocked this tiny, tight-knit community."

David Cohen's love of a good story came through with this compelling tale: "In the middle of the carnage on the strife-torn road of death in the leafy suburb the suspect decamped in a northerly direction after making his excuses without revealing the tragic birthday backstory that closely involved a baffled boffin, a grieving shark, a teen cheerleader, and a lotteries winner."

Sarah Ryan gets a dishonourable mention for creating a sentence starting: "Shocked neighbours in the quiet suburban street reported that crazed psychopath Chris Pash."

Ian Williams scores a highly dishonourable for a sentence under the headline: "Nut screws washer and bolts."

Phillip Gould went with the trusted sports report but fell down when he went over the word limit: "Rampant jingoism led to the ramped-up hubris displayed by the All Blacks team following their hard fought victory over a dejected France, who had been beleaguered prior to the game, and had been written off by rugby pundits far and wide despite the endemic patriotism displayed by Francophiles in every corner of the world who had tuned out to the unbackable favouritism of the New Zealand team."

Bernard Cohen kept to the word ceiling: "The double whammy of a great big tax of Middle Eastern appearance linked to two Sydney models and a cheeky new threat hanging over heroic battlers sitting idle in Labor heartland in our two-speed economy proved no barrier for millions of Australian's (sic) lining the streets to welcome Queen Elizabeth."

Leith Phillips receives a package of books from Fremantle Press including The Waterboys by Peter Docker, My Dog Gave Me the Clap by Adam Morris, Brothers by Antonio Buti and one of the few remaining copies of The Last Whale by Chris Pash.

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays.

Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 73 – Clinging to Life

Clinging to life is the natural order of the world and most do it after a horror smash. Some also cling to hope that their missing loved ones will return.

Others cling to wreckage, to their dreams, to their beliefs and, these days, most cling to their jobs.

Variations of cling to appear in news reports up to 3000 times a month, with clinging to life used 150 times.

"Trapped in a degrading, dangerous world that left her clinging to life more times than she can count, Laura hated every minute of it." (The Edmonton Sun, November 15)

"Only the thought of his youngest son, just six years old, keeps the man clinging to life." (The Guardian, November 14)

"Two South Bay residents who were hit by trains and survived remain hospitalised. One of them is expected to recover and the other is in a coma, clinging to life, according to their families." (San Jose Mercury News, November 13)

"A homeless man was clinging to life last night after allegedly being viciously bashed at a New Town shelter yesterday." (The Mercury, Hobart, October 22)

"A mum was clinging to life last night after a horror road crash that killed her toddler son." (Scottish Daily Record, November 18)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays.

Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.