Manx Radio

[KERED 231]

19 hours ago, Declan said:

That is terrible. I guess they mean "Its track aims to bring a sense of excitement." But even then it's woeful. 

Firstly, who is "it" - the nursery, I presume. (I'll allow them a bit of poetic licence and let them off the fact it's not the nursery but the people at  the nursery that are behind the track. So  the sentence becomes "The nursery's track aims to bring a sense of excitement."

But a track has no agency, it doesn't decide whether or not to bring a sense of excitement, it just does or it doesn't. It is the writers, producers, singers and musicians that have an aim for it. So, "The nursery aims for the track to bring a sense of excitement."

Then what is a "sense of excitement" is that different from excitement? "The nursery aims for the track to bring excitement."

Then we just have to establish to whom and about what. "The nursery aims for the track to bring Christmas excitement to listeners."

Even then it is a bit woolly. 

Yes, I agree, Declan. They seem to be creating their own language: 

   ' Granite obelisks - recently installed for the first time along the Island's longest walking route - have sparked negativity.'

[foxdaleliberationfront 595]

One would think that for the £1m per annum they would be able to find journalists who have a basic grasp of English? 

[Donald Trumps 5,271]

There is surely much journalistic output created up at Manx Radio Towers which just never sees the light of day - I mean how many journalists work up there?

Bet it's twice as many as work at IOM Newspapers

[Roger Mexico 7,318]

2 hours ago, KERED said:

Yes, I agree, Declan. They seem to be creating their own language: 

   ' Granite obelisks - recently installed for the first time along the Island's longest walking route - have sparked negativity.'

Maybe someone Up There on Douglas Head read that because it has now been amended to "have sparked criticism"[1].  Which makes just as little sense, but has a slightly less Orwellian tone.  The charge of 'negativity' rather gives the impression that any objectors will be interrogated in some basement at the DfE for the crime of having slandered the beloved Skelly regime.

The most interesting thing about this is that Skelly in the sound-clip admits[2] that whoever put up this completely unnecessary (and no doubt ferociously expensive) folly made a cock-up.  But of course the main purpose of such exercises is to spend money and get 'publicity' (that no one outside IOMG notices or cares about).  What's actually produced is secondary at best.  Of course if the money was actually spent on maintaining and marking the Raad-ny-Foillan and other footpaths rather than "Look at Me" follies it would actually be better for walkers and maybe attract such visitors, but as we all know the Manx Government doesn't 'do' maintenance.

 

[1]  The plural is also incorrect as only one of these monstrosities has so far been put up as the clip makes clear.

[2]  Note how Manx Radio doesn't spin this as an error but as Skelly dynamically tackling the issue 'head-on'.  Promotion from Manx Radio is often to one of those well-paying jobs in the Cabinet Office.

[gettafa 6,266]

I once saw a headline in one of the biggest selling national newspapers.

It just said "Gotcha"

Everybody knows that the headline should have said "Got You". I thought it a travesty to reduce a dependent subordinate clause not only to an independent clause but a standalone slang word. 

If there had been an internet in those days I would have been straight on the keyboard to the editor or to my local internet forum.

Edited November 18, 2019 by gettafa

[piebaps 2,624]

1 hour ago, Roger Mexico said:

  Promotion from Manx Radio is often to one of those well-paying jobs in the Cabinet Office.

How many is often? As far as I know there's only Marian Kenny in the Cabinet Office. Who are the others that make this "often" as you claim?

[Non-Believer 10,856]

3 minutes ago, piebaps said:

How many is often? As far as I know there's only Marian Kenny in the Cabinet Office. Who are the others that make this "often" as you claim?

Communications Dept maybe? There are good few ex journos in there, mostly ex-IoM Newspapers?

[gettafa 6,266]

38 minutes ago, piebaps said:

How many is often? As far as I know there's only Marian Kenny in the Cabinet Office. Who are the others that make this "often" as you claim?

Danny 'boy' Davies got a nice little number in the Cabinet Office. Did he ever.

They even made a job for him, Director of Change and Reform.

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by gettafa

[Andy Onchan 3,406]

37 minutes ago, piebaps said:

How many is often? As far as I know there's only Marian Kenny in the Cabinet Office. Who are the others that make this "often" as you claim?

Try here

[Nellie 439]

1 hour ago, Andy Onchan said:

Try here

So, apart from Marian Kenny, that's nobody ex-MR?

[Andy Onchan 3,406]

8 minutes ago, Nellie said:

So, apart from Marian Kenny, that's nobody ex-MR?

But other departments do employ ex IOM Newspaper staff.

[piebaps 2,624]

They do Andy but Rog said the pathway from MR was "often" when in fact "often" appears to mean once.

[Declan 6,507]

4 hours ago, gettafa said:

I once saw a headline in one of the biggest selling national newspapers.

It just said "Gotcha"

Everybody knows that the headline should have said "Got You". I thought it a travesty to reduce a dependent subordinate clause not only to an independent clause but a standalone slang word. 

If there had been an internet in those days I would have been straight on the keyboard to the editor or to my local internet forum.

But that’s an example of the editorial team choosing exactly the right word and form to convey what they wanted. 
 

If Manx Radio stories were written clearly but in non-standard English that’s fine. I’m pretty relaxed about typos - everyone makes mistakes. 
 

But I do object to lazy, ill-considered language that is practically meaningless. This should be second nature to a professional journalist but they’re consistently shoddy.
 

If they’re that slipshod about the finished output then you have to wonder how much effort they put into researching and fact-checking stories. 

[gettafa 6,266]

5 hours ago, Nellie said:

So, apart from Marian Kenny, that's nobody ex-MR?

DJ Dan Davies.

2 hours ago, piebaps said:

They do Andy but Rog said the pathway from MR was "often" when in fact "often" appears to mean once.

DJ Dan Davies.

Newspaper bods too slip in easily to Cabinet Office

[Stu Peters 2,203]

So if you ever work for the media you're disbarred from working for Government. Who came up with that rule? Do Ron and Juan know?