Tv News Reporters And Their Odd Diction

[douglas9401]

Where do they learn that stuff?

[THECORBYLOON]

Do you have examples?

[douglas9401]

Laura


Bicker just now reporting

from the US

BBC News

[Mamyalynne]

Well Laura Bicker is Scottish - she probably got her diction growing up.

[jno]

if you were in charge at the BBC you woudn't need to, he doesn't work there.

[douglas9401]

Pesto's been with ITV these many months, divebuddy, so no, not him.
I've lost the will to post.

[THECORBYLOON]

Watching Laura Bicker the now and she sounds fine to me.

[Peter Pedant]

// Well Laura Bicker is Scottish - she probably got her diction growing up.//
yeah like Trevor McDonald got HIS accent growing up in Brixton ....

The priblem Doug wasa that the Beeb pronunciation unit was closed down thirty years ago and there grew up the idea that anything goes

soon I predict we will have - "Obama, he's the president of america innit ?"
or "Hillary asks in a presidential primary - wot wiv dat ven ?"

[THECORBYLOON]

Peston sounds like he's reading from an autocue powered by a bike ridden by an asthmatic eighty-year old.

[Mamyalynne]

Sorry if I didn't phrase it correctly Peter.

Laura has a nice Scottish accent and I can understand her very well.

Is that better?

[Jackdaw33]

I often wonder whether these 'weather girls' are qualified meteorologists or just dolly birds who can read an autocue.

[jno]

if you want a qualified meteorologist, Michael Fish is your man.

[Jackdaw33]

LOL!

[Gromit]

// The priblem Doug wasa that the Beeb pronunciation unit was closed down thirty years ago //

No it wasn't, it is alive and kicking.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/informationandarchives/archivenews/2013/bbc_pronunciation

BBC English used to consists of 100% home counties accents, and did not reflect Britain. So regional accents were gradually allowed to be broadcast. To most of the UK that was an improvement, but to people in the Home Counties they were suddenly subjected to normal speak and they were (and seemingly are still) dumbfounded.

[grumpy01]

I don't know about diction problems but some reporters appear to have attended the Magnus Pyke school of journalism.

[Quizmonster]

I don't know if this is the sort of thing you mean, Doug, but I often find myself (almost) shouting at some TV news-readers, "For goodness sake, talk in phrases at least, if you can't manage a whole reasonably-spaced sentence!"
It happens when they actually resort to pronouncing individual words; that is, there appears to be no coherence in what they are actually saying.
I have never seen an autocue 'in the flesh', so I'm not sure whether it is because of how these work that readers get confused.

[retrocop]

Peston's staccato, over dramatic, pregnant pause for effect style appears catching.
The 24hrs BEEB news reporter just now who covered Teresa May's speech sounded like Presto somewhat. Even mentioned it to the mem sahib

[stuey]

At one time, wasn't the "Mid Atlantic" accent much sought after by radio and tv announcers/reporters?