Harbinger Of A Bad Rant To Come

I love how even really good journalists with whom I've worked over the years have agreed with my rants about bad writing that makes the papers or the newscasts, yet they still find themselves reading the shit on air because someone else wrote it for them.

When you write news for television, you can sound a little less formal than for print. "Make it more conversational," I was told a few times when I made the jump from print to TV. So I've since kept a keen ear out for not-so-conversational writing, and being the unforgiving, judgmental prick I can often be, I began a few years ago compiling a list of items often written for TV that are just straight up awful. I'll look around for the list and bore you with it one day, but for now, an example I like is "the battle of the bulge." Have you ever heard someone other than a television anchor say those words? It's often used in the first sentence of another yawny health story that tells viewers the same thing a similar story revealed the week before, something like, "breaking news -- exercise will help you in the battle of the bulge." I wonder if Geraldo had the "shocking new details."

Actually, I take this criticism back. Just a few short months ago, I remember being at a party and telling a friend about my then-current health situation with the summer right around the corner.

Partier: "I've got a trip to Mexico coming up. I can't wait. I just love the beach."
Me: "Yeah; the beach is cool. I wish I had a trip coming up. I'd have to do some sit-ups tho, as I'm currently losing the battle of the bulge."

Anyway, the reason I began this rant is because I wanted to talk about another piece of writing. I seem to hear the word "harbinger" in the same context every time. It's often when a television anchor or host is interviewing a guest, perhaps on-set or in a double-box via satellite (how's that for TV talk?).

For example, Lebanon and Israel had their own little war (greedy bastards) that began about five weeks ago. Once it started, market speculators had to weigh in on every news program with their thoughts on how this non-bulge-related battle would affect oil prices.

"Do you think this latest development in Israel is a harbinger of things to come regarding oil prices?"

Harbinger already has a "things to come" angle built into its meaning, so using both the word and the subsequent phrasing is quite redundant.

I can't believe I'm still talking about this.

I need to go to bed.