An Open Letter to Fellow Broadcasters

Please, stop shortening methadone to “meth”.  Meth is crystal methamphetamine, a very potent, dangerous drug that has ruined countless lives. Methadone is a medicine that reduces the cravings for heroin. It is prescribed to people who are trying to kick hard drugs.  Not only do you sound like an idiot when you use “meth” the wrong way, you further confuse the issue for those who don’t yet know the difference. 

Our city has a not-in-my-back-yard approach to methadone clinics and I’m convinced that it’s at least partly because of peoples’ ignorance about them. Using the nickname for an unrelated illegal substance only makes things worse.

Enough with the lousy grammar. I heard this sentence this week.  “A combination of factors are what led to…”  No, a combination of factors IS what lead to…  I know every generation thinks things are getting worse but grammar really is getting worse. On the Western Fair District sign this week I saw that hockey is being played “Monday’s and Tuesday’s”.  For the love of creation – there shouldn’t be apostrophes in simple plurals.

Wait a minute.  That’s not broadcasting.  I appear to have lost my focus and digressed. I apologize.

I also heard on radio this week that a woman “killed herself to death”.  Hey, everybody makes mistakes and we all have a little bit of Ron Burgundy in us but, whoa, that was a doozy.

And finally today, please, newscasters, stop telling me how to feel about a story.  Adjectives rarely belong in a newscast, in my opinion. If it’s sad, I’ll feel it. If it’s tragic, I’ll figure that out too. I heard a newscaster this week describe a 4-hour wait on an airplane on a runway as “horrific”. Really?  Try telling that to the passengers on the Carnival cruise liner that was stuck at sea for days with overflowing toilets or the family of the dead girlfriend of Oscar Pistorious whom he shot as she cowered in his bathroom. Therein lies the danger with telling me, or any listener how to feel.  You’re probably wrong. Thank you.

3 thoughts on “An Open Letter to Fellow Broadcasters”

  1. A-to-the-Men, Lisa! The proliferation of useless apostrophe’s (tee hee) “drive’s” me up the “wall’s”. Oscar’s. Grammy’s. Tony’s. And I can’t even eat my feelings: I took a pic of the price tags at Metro where – check a salad, it’s there – it says “Freshness at IT’S Best”. Argh. I know, I know, don’t sweat the small stuff. But it’s death by a thousand paper cuts. You and I will be very comfy together in the cracker factory, my dear.

    1. Yes! You will be there first (because I’m working on the “Freedom 88” retirement plan) so please make yourself comfy until I arrive!

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