On The Media is produced by:
We all use filler words like um or uh but it’s rare that we hear them in movies, news broadcasts or … uh … this show. Author Michael Erard explains that verbal blunders and hesitations reveal more than we think.
I was waiting to see if OTM would do a story on how PBS over-inflated the ratings for The War and interview the ombudsmen that nailed them on it... but no... we get a segment on the word "um" which OTM religiously cleanses (unless its from the lips of Bush).
Ugh.
I would love it if you put up an alternate version of this with the um's left in. Then we could listen to both and see which we prefer.
1 in 10 words is a slip? That's a lot!
Hmmm.
How about our illustrious Sec. of State Condi Rice, um, seems to, um, continually, um, stammers, um, uh, working to make, um, her, um, point.
Why does the media require the use of so many filler words?
Please keep your comments relevant to this entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments on On the Media are moderated. On the Media reserves the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the onthemedia.org Comment Guidelines before posting.
Back to Episode
