Stuff Journalists Like – #61 Cursing

CursingJournalists have a verbose
vocabulary. They can seamlessly weave words like probabilistic, denizen and
epistemology into everyday conversation.  But off camera and off
record, journalists have very, very big potty mouths.

If a journalist is ever
observed in his natural element, the most common words to come from
his mouth will be the four-letter variety kind - the ones that would never
make it in his family friendly publication.

Perhaps it is journalists’
penchant for the first amendment, or the fact journalists are relegated to
writing at a third-grade level (fourth grade if at the Wall Street
Journal) so as not to confuse their readers, but for whatever reason
journalists like cursing.

Walk into any newsroom in the
country around deadline and there are guaranteed to be a few choice words
flying around. As eloquent as journalists may sound in their final copy they
can hold their own against any sailor, convict or pirate when it comes to
cursing.

The object of said expletives
can be any number sources. From malfunctioning computers to deceptive
politicians to coffee that’s too hot, there is nothing that a journalist won’t
curse.

In a world that loves to curse
journalists, journalists are left to level their expletives at glowing laptops,
questionable taverns, half empty newsrooms and Craigslist.



Topics:

cursing, pirate expletives

Comments

  1. Ricky says:

    I curse under pressure sometimes. I imagine that’s where a lot of the four-letter words come from. I remember my first week or so on this job I tried really hard not to cuss. But the first time I was in the newsroom around deadline I figured out that I was weirder if I didn’t.

  2. Jesse says:

    This entry is fucking bullshit.

  3. Brian says:

    What the F$&^ are you talking about? I’ve never met a G@#*$!^# journalist who F#*%*&@ cusses! S#*@, spreading more lies about our f$*&#^@ profession. Oh… wait… I just read that back out loud. Nevermind…

  4. Dave Mosher says:

    This @#%? is &#@%ing gold.

  5. SplashLeland says:

    Since when is Bill O’Reilly a journalist?

  6. Bethany says:

    HAHAA. This is so very f*cking true.

  7. scott says:

    Why did all the motherfuckers in this goddamn thread censor themselves?
    Fucking ridiculous.

  8. Brook says:

    fucking fuck all those fucking fuckers for their fuckery! Motherfuckers need to take a mutherfuckin shit break and chill the FUCK out!
    i mean damn, what the fuck?

  9. badger says:

    Too fucking true.

  10. Tu says:

    When everything is completely fucked up in the world, you say “fuck!” because you have to cover it all because your newsroom is too small. (See next graf.)
    When everything is completely fucked up at your company, you say “fuck!” because you could lose your fucking job for which you are fucking underpaid.
    When nothing is fucked up, you say “fuck!” because you suspect that something has to be fucked up somewhere but you just don’t know about it, which means you might get scooped by the fucking bloggers.

  11. Geeyore says:

    In addition to the prolific cursing, I’ve seen telephone books and coffee cups hurled across the bullpen, fistfights breaking out among co-workers (more than once), and of course editors-in-chief who stagger directly from their all night benders straight into the newsroom at 8:30 AM.

  12. Lubna says:

    Ooooh, the latest thing to be hurled around are shoes!

  13. I am not sure I understand the article.. it’s a little beyond my reading comprehension level. Fucking tell me what it means dammit!

  14. Tim says:

    Ugh. I’m not reading any more of this blog.

  15. bring_back_palffy says:

    Tu: I’d swear too if I were getting scooped by a fucking blogger.

  16. Katie C. says:

    My former editor preferred coffee cups.

  17. Neil says:

    Apparently the only thing that journalists like more than cursing is cursing in response to a post about cursing.

  18. Renee says:

    Have you heard the mp3 recording, “The Word Fuck?” I laughed until I cried and so will you. Here’s a link:
    http://www.box.net/shared/d1hs04vldo

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