Cliche of the Week 63 – Outcomes

Delivering positive outcomes can be achieved as long as political expediency is not mixed with the deliverables.

Translated: there will be a result, an effect, from a planned action and someone will be better off.

In Australia, we see about 500 outcomes a week in the media, a lot of them in stories about health where everything is about patient outcomes. Apparently this is something to strive for.

Globally, the outcomes are so numerous it is hard to separate mainstream media coverage from health industry-speak, political speak and press release jargon.

"Typically, expected outcomes are well defined; regular engagement with, and reporting from, beneficiaries occurs, and the effectiveness of the philanthropic activity is reviewed." (Banking Day, September 6)

"Boyd Swinburn from Deakin University says the declaration started strong, with outcomes and targets and accountability mechanisms, but they have since fallen by the wayside." (ABC, September 6)

"The group lapsed two years later after no outcomes resulted from their efforts, which included writing more than 100 letters to people, including local councillors and state ministers." (Newcastle Star, September 6).

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. The usage of cliches in the media is 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