Index

accessibility 16–17, 101

accuracy 16, 34, 52–90;

accuracy in language 52;

the meaning of words 53–54;

ambiguity 55–56;

precision 56–57;

accurate names 58–62;

accurate geography 63–79;

The EU 74–78;

accurate numbers 79–82;

accurate grammar 84–90;

pronunciation 99–101;

online news 159–161

acronyms and abbreviations 62

active voice 48–49

adjectives and adverbs 21, 41–42, 50–52, 121

Adventure of English, Melvyn Bragg 10

Allen, John 2, 55, 173

Allen, Karen 157

ambiguity 53, 55–56, 84, 89

Americanisms 6, 34–39

Amis, Martin 5

apostrophe 88, 141

archive pictures 118, 133–134, 158

Arnold, Matthew 40

attribution 26, 57–58, 81, 153

audience focus 20–21

Austen, Jane 4

authority in the language 12–16;

authority versus accessibility 16–17

Baker, Roy 24

Barnes, Anne 164

Barron, Brian 112, 113, 118

BBC:

BBC English 3, 11–13;

BBC Guidance on reported speech 89–90;

BBC News 2, 16–17, 19–20, 141;

BBC News Styleguide 2, 26–28, 36, 55, 100;

BBC Online 149;

BBC Editorial Guidelines on disability reporting 97–99;

BBC Editorial Guidelines website 188

Bell, David 5

Bell, Martin 127–128, 135

Between you and I, James Cochrane 15, 88

Bhalla, Anita 96–97

blogging and tweeting 161–162

Bloomberg TV 26, 64, 150

Bond, Jennie 51

Bragg, Melvyn 10, 11, 13

Brown, Ben 134

Bryson, Bill 14, 35, 177

Burchfield, Robert 14

Burgess, Anthony 12

Burnet, Sir Alastair 42

Bush, George W. 80, 100

business news 27–28, 80

captions in TV news 88, 138–141

Caxton’s printing press 10

Carroll, Lewis 53

Chandler, Raymond 85

chronology in scripts 117–119, 133

Churchill, Winston 34

clarity 21, 41–43, 49, 122–123, 153, 161

clichés 7, 22, 31–33, 107, 153, 163, 166–186;

in headlines 146–147;

in sport reports 29–30

closing headlines 149–150

Cochrane, James 15, 88

Coleman, Karen 36, 125

collective nouns 85–87

commentary 43, 51, 113, 127–137, 144, 157

conciseness 14, 34, 41–43

continuous news services 8, 150–153, 158

copy story 122–123

cue 101, 104–115, 153;

cue material and cue guidance 113–114

Dalai Lama 41

dangerous words 167–186

dates 38–39

definite article 33–34

dictating scripts 20

digital revolution 7

direct style 47–49

disability, advice on terminology 97–99

Dodd, Daniel 80, 87

Doucet, Lyse 125, 137, 153

editing pictures 127–129

Elliott, Peter 19, 179

England, reporting locations 64–74

English:

BBC English 11–13;

broadcast news English 11–13;

global language 13–14;

development of 9–11;

Queen’s English 9;

good spoken English 4–18

Essential English, Harold Evans 42, 49

Etchingham, Julie 46, 151

Europe and the EU, terminology 74–78

European Courts 78

Evans, Harold 42, 49

Evans, Steve 126

exclusive 112–113

financial news 26–28

football reporting 29–30

Fort, Tom 90, 172

Fowler, H.W. and F.G. 39, 85

Fry, Stephen 154

future trends 163–164

geography, accuracy 63–66, 79

Gershwin, Ira 34

Gibbons, Stella 40

Godard, Jean-Luc 117

good spoken English 4–18, 21, 27, 30, 88, 121, 164

Gowers, Sir Ernest 86

grammar 4–7, 11–12, 15–16, 84–90, 165

graphics 17, 106, 109–110, 130, 138–141, 159

Hall, Robert 152

Hanrahan, Brian 133

Hargreaves, David 4

Hazlitt, William 19

headlines 45, 68, 94, 144–150

Heart FM Style Guide 107–108

Herrmann, Steve 159, 161

Hewitt, Gavin 119–120

history of spoken English 9–15

Humphrys, John 15–16, 179

Independent (newspaper) 5, 23, 25, 86, 117

international English 13–14

internet news 21, 127, 154–161

intros 102, 104–115, 123

inviting style 145–146

ITN 6, 21, 41, 42, 65, 82, 87, 106, 112, 130, 137, 138, 152, 184

ITV 7, 8, 10, 17, 37, 62, 67, 80, 88, 97, 98, 112, 146

jargon 22, 26–30, 127, 129, 163

Jenkins, Blair 67–69

Joad, C.E.M. 15

Jobbins, Bob, OBE 6, 9, 26, 41, 131

Johnson, Michael 37

Johnson, Dr Samuel 1, 11

journalese 1, 6, 22–26, 29–33, 40, 107, 146–147

Kellaway, Lucy 27–28

King James Bible 11

Kington, Miles 54

Kipling’s questions 102–103

Kirk, Rob 31, 151

Leigh, Aminda 159–160

letting it breathe 137, 144

library pictures 133–134, 138

live in the studio 152–153

live reporting on location 151–152

Macaulay, Thomas 44

maps 66, 138

Marr, Andrew 88

Marsh, Kevin 164

Masters, Ian 136

Mawhinney, Maxine 152

meaning of words 53–55, 89

measurements 82–84

Mitchell, David 16

mobile devices receiving news 161

model of spoken word 9

Morgan, Peter 142–144

Morrow, Clare 7, 20, 125, 131, 137

Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson 14, 35

Mullan, John 13

multi-skilling 8, 122

names and titles 58–63

names of places 63–68, 78–79

narrative journalism 44–47, 102, 115–120

natural sound on television 43, 124–125, 129, 136–137, 144, 148

Neville-Rolf, Lucy 5

news agency copy 30–31

Nicholas, Sir David 6, 21, 41, 87, 130, 137, 151

Northern Ireland 63–64, 66–69, 71–73, 91, 166

numbers, how to write them 79–82

officialese 23–26

online news 105, 154–161

opinion polls 83, 180

Orchard, Tim 7, 21, 51, 131

organisations, names of 61–62

Orwell, George 25, 31, 163

Owen, Sue 107–108

Oxford English Dictionary 14, 15, 16, 87

packages:

on radio 122–126;

on television 117–118, 126–141;

example 141–144

Partridge, Eric 41

pay-offs 65, 124

peg 46

pictures:

writing to 43, 51, 126–141, 138–144;

picture sequences 118–120

Plain English Campaign 88

Politics and the English Language, Orwell 31, 163

precision 36, 49, 50, 56–57

present tense 31, 105, 111, 124, 134–135, 147

pressures on broadcast journalists 7–8

Price, Matthew 156–157

Prince Charles 4

pronunciation 9, 12, 99–101;

American 39

punctuation 16, 141, 160–161

puns 135–136

Queen’s English 9–10

Quirk, Lord Randolf 4, 12, 14

quotes, how to use them 90

race in language 94–97

radio news 122–126

Ray, Vin 45

received pronunciation 12–13

redundant words 49–52

reference books 187–189

registered names 62–63

religion 72, 94, 97, 99

reported speech 89–90

Rose, Sir Stuart 5

Sambrook, Richard 13, 17, 31–32, 125

Scotland 64–70

sensitivity in writing 91–99

sequences of pictures 118–120

sexism in language 92–94

sexual orientation 94

Shakespeare, William 1, 19, 52, 166

short bulletin stories 102–103

short sentences 41, 42–43, 112, 134–135, 144, 156

shot-listing 128–129

Shukman, David 134–135

simplicity 28, 41–43, 51, 102, 112, 122, 147, 149, 159–160

Simpson, John 43, 131–133

Sky News 46, 138, 150–151

Smartt, Mike 158

sources 26, 57–58, 81, 153

special occasions 111–112

specialist reporting 28–29

spelling 4, 8, 10–11, 15–16, 55, 136, 140–141, 160–161

spin 10, 25–26

split infinitive 6, 85

split intros 110–111

sport reporting 29–30

standards of writing 4–7, 12–13, 162, 165

stand-ups 151–152

stereotyping in language 91–99

Stoppard, Tom 55

stories 44–47, 48, 115–120

Strickland, Sarah 92

structure of stories 101–103, 117–120, 128, 144

subordinate clauses 21, 47–48

suicide reporting 99

tabloidese 22, 30

tautology 49–50

Teffler, Richard 27

television news 126–153;

how consumed 20–21;

intros 108–114;

graphics 109, 138–141;

natural sound 136–137, 144;

full package 141–144

tenses 48–49, 87, 105, 111, 124, 134–135

texting 163–164

The King’s English, Fowler 39, 85

Thomson Foundation 136–137

Timothy, Andrew 165

titles 33, 58–61

Twain, Mark 50

twenty-four hour news 8, 47, 105, 150–153

Twitter 161–162

Tyndale, William 10–11

versioning 8, 155

video journalists 8

Wales 63–68, 71

Walsh, John 5

Walsh, Robin 50

Waterhouse, Keith 22

web news 105, 154–161

who, why, when, where, what? 102–103

Wilde, Oscar 5, 34

Winston, Professor Robert 115

writing to pictures 43, 51, 126–141

Wycliffe, John 10

York Mystery Plays 10