Journalism’s worst cliches

1. At the end of the day

2. Split second

3. About face

4. Unsung heroes

5. Outpouring of support

6. Last-ditch effort

7. Concerned residents

See article here.

In Russia, the new point-counterpoint for journalists

“…’Last spring, I called for the resignation of the city’s leadership,’ Mr. Beketov said in one of his final editorials. ‘A few days later, my automobile was blown up’…Not long after, he was savagely beaten outside his home and left to bleed in the snow. His fingers were bashed, and three later had to be amputated, as if his assailants had sought to make sure that he would never write another word. He lost a leg. Now 52, he is in a wheelchair, his brain so damaged that he cannot utter a simple sentence. ” Here.

Please, let’s not turn the next ten years into a Tim Russert commemorative moment

Geeees…first it was Jesus, then Abe Lincoln died, then John Lennon fell, then Princess Di, now Tim. Yeah, they got Tim. Tim Russert wasn’t a bad guy. I watched him once in a while. He was an ok interviewer; did his job in a professional manner, got paid, went home, ate dinner like everybody else in this poor slob world. So come on, this guy wasn’t the Second Comming. No matter what, please, we are not laying this guy out in the Caiptol rotunda and have tens of millions of his grief-stricken, red-eyed, dry-throated TV personality peers filing past, no matter how good the boob tube ratings would be. He was a journalist and he died. Now let’s move on and go home and watch some reruns of Seinfeld and then get some sleep. OK?

UPDATE: According to the NY Post “Tim Russert’s body wasn’t even cold in the ground before MSNBC anchors Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann started jockeying for his job, sources claim.” Of course, these guys want to get the high-paying job before the NBC BIGS figures out that they could probably fill the position with some ten year old kid from a local school. The “professional” anchor position is one of the biggest scams of the last two thousand years (which is roughly the age of anchor Larry King). These guys are mostly dimwits with writers feeding their halitosis mouths (take a gander at Mathews’ yellow teeth). No I don’t blame these guys for keeping their eyes on the prize; that’s the way this show biz news works. And geees, Keith Olbermann…This guy is such a snarling rabid conniving little rodent he probably would’ve chewed through Russert’s throat if the guy hadn’t kicked off when he did.