On The Media - Word Watch

The Elite Beat (On The Media)

Mon, 12 May 2008 19:32 GMT

Barack Obama's success in this week's primary contests took place despite an all-out effort by the Clinton campaign to paint him as "elite." Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg describes how the meaning of elite has changed over the years and psychologist Drew Westen explains why being labeled an elitist can be so damaging.

Earmarks: The Other White Meat (On The Media)

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:04 GMT

Earmarks were brought to the center of the political spotlight this week in President Bush's State of the Union speech. Once an insider term pertaining to the process of allocating funds, it is now a dirty word synonymous with pork. The Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman explains how this evolution is mostly political and ultimately inaccurate.

The R-Word (On The Media)

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:18 GMT

With a tricky definition and a lag-time to compile statistics, it may take up to a year to know if we are indeed in a recession right now. In the meantime, the media speculate. Critics from the left and right weigh in on whether the media jump the gun by invoking the R-word and David Wessel, economics editor for the Wall Street Journal, explains the word's place in the newsroom.

Word Watch: Waterboarding (On The Media)

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 21:47 GMT

Robert Mukasey was confirmed this week as attorney general. The process moved the definition of waterboarding into the spotlight. As media struggle to find out what the interrogation technique entails, the working definition has been "simulated drowning." But those who've experienced and performed it say it is drowning. Two newspaper editors weigh in.

Giving Pause (On The Media)

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:37 GMT

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.

Word Watch: Sanctuary City (On The Media)

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:05 GMT

In the parlance of Republican-primary politics, “sanctuary” – as in sanctuary city – has become a bad word. In our occasional series we call Word Watch, ABC News political correspondent Jake Tapper and linguist Geoffrey Nunberg explain how a term rooted in religion was turned into an epithet.

In So Many Words (On The Media)

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 20:55 GMT

Have you ever encountered a rootkit or a lifehack? Do you know what it means to be squicked? These neologisms were all runners-up for the coveted distinction of the New Oxford American Dictionary's 2005 Word of the Year. Erin McKean is the New Oxford editor-in-chief. She explains to Bob, among other things, the difference between an IDP and an IED.

To Bork (On The Media)

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:15 GMT

Brooke muses over the word that takes its meaning from a onetime Supreme Court nominee, whose unsuccessful bid for the bench earned him a place in Webster's: to bork.

Word Watch: Refugees (On The Media)

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:18 GMT

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the National Association of Black Journalists called on media outlets to refer to people fleeing New Orleans as "evacuees," rather than "refugees." Many complied, but others, after consulting their dictionaries and style guides, decided the new term lacked the scope befitting a national catastrophe. Bob examines the debate and discovers that even in the midst of a crisis, language can be critical.

Wordwatch: Echo Chamber (On The Media)

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:16 GMT

A free forum of ideas suggests a back-and-forth exchange between individuals with various perspectives. But what happens when people are sequestered to separate discursive spaces on the basis of their ideas? As we're seeing all over the Internet these days, debate breaks down, and in its place we find simply a multiplicity of "echo chambers." Brooke talks with University of Chicago professor Cass Sunstein about the metaphorical reverberations of the phrase.

War By Any Other Name (On The Media)

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:30 GMT

This week, we learned that the war on terrorism may soon be a thing of the past. Not that militants are laying down their suicide bombs, or that the U.S. is making peace with its enemies. It's just that the phrase "war on terrorism" is being retired. From now on, it will officially be referred to as the "struggle against violent extremism." Brooke speaks with CIA counterterrorism veteran Michael Scheuer about the semantic overhaul.

Wordwatch: Evangelical (On The Media)

Tue, 20 May 2008 18:07 GMT

Question: What do you call the demographic of American Protestants with especially conservative social beliefs? Answer: Unclear. The group formerly known as the "Christian Right" has made it known that they'd rather be referred to as "Evangelicals." Not so fast, say liberal Evangelicals who vote Democratic, and who protest the tarnishing of their religion with politics. Brooke takes a closer look at a disputed moniker.

Word Up (On The Media)

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:21 GMT

There's been a lot of talk recently about the exact definition of "torture." Some say it's an accurate descriptor of what happened to Iraqi detainees in U.S. custody. Others say those detainees were not tortured, but simply "abused," and that "torture" is something out of Saddam's dungeons. In a Newsday op-ed this week, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg mused over the invocation of the word "torture". He joins Bob to discuss the political uses and abuses of language, and his new book, Going Nucular: Language, Politics and Culture in Confrontational Times.

Dogging the Wag (On The Media)

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:17 GMT

When it comes to information and inspiration for news stories, there are sources…and then there are wags. And over the years, the wags have contributed prodigiously to journalists in need. Usually, their contributions come in the form of quips. But who, in fact, are these wags? Bob sets out on a transnational investigation to find out.

Wordwatch: Echo Chamber (On The Media)

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:43 GMT

Wordwatch: Quagmire (On The Media)

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:21 GMT

There's the geological definition of the word quagmire. And then there's that other meaning. In the American media, the word is becoming increasingly linked to Iraq, a place that could hardly be characterized as "a wet, boggy ground." Brooke chats with author and editor Tom Engelhardt about the Q-word and its usage.