Globe public editor: Clichés drive readers up the wall

By Sylvia Stead, public editor of The Globe and Mail

Clichés and overblown rhetoric drive some readers up the wall. Okay, that was both a cliché and overblown, but you get the point.

By Sylvia Stead, public editor of The Globe and Mail

Clichés and overblown rhetoric drive some readers up the wall. Okay, that was both a cliché and overblown, but you get the point.

I’ve had a couple of e-mails from readers over the past week who were so annoyed that they took pen to paper (yes another cliché) – hands to keyboards anyway – to complain about these following phrases:

 “This is the insane way Whistler protects you from avalanches.” That’s the headline on this video.

A Victoria reader pleaded: “Please tell me you’re not slipping into Upworthy-CNN headlines. What’s insane about it? Looks to me like professional avalanche controllers doing their job. With small explosives. Should they be using artillery from the middle of the village? Should they leave the snow buildup as it is, and let it kill people? What next? ‘Harper meets Mulcair and you won’t believe what happens next!’ ‘This puppy’s reaction will melt your heart!’ ”

To continue reading this column, please go theglobendmail.com where it was originally published. 


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