When I heard that CNN had polled their viewers for a discussion on overused words in the current parlance, I was thrilled to think that people were engaging in thoughtful analysis of the way we speak. Unfortunately, the responses selected for the “Words you love to hate” video served only to reinforce my already steely conviction that most Americans just don’t talk good.
Figure these excerpts present a somewhat inflated representation of the public, as they were submitted by CNN watchers who would take the time to craft an iReport. Then factor in that these answers were probably the cream of the crop. The fact only half of them were coherent, only one was remotely insightful, and one of them was straight up laughable (Your kids, like, say, like, “I know” a lot? You should, you know, like, rant to CNN about it.) really disappointed me. That’s what I get for succumbing to a flash of faith.
By the way. What the fuck is an iReporter? According to the site:
iReport.com is a user-generated site. That means the stories submitted by users are not edited, fact-checked or screened before they post.
(They do note that “Only stories marked ‘On CNN’ have been vetted for use in CNN news coverage.”)
So basically an iReporter is any schmo who feels like playing journalist with absolutely no shred of accountability or verification? F that. I paid my dues interning and fact checking to earn the right to pretend to be a journalist. What have you done?
No Happy Medium 