OLD Media Moves

Anglicizing the Wall Street Journal

September 16, 2009

James Ledbetter of The Big Money takes issue with the increasing number of English phrases he’s finding in The Wall Street Journal.

Ledbetter writes, “Global ownership of media is not intrinsically bad, which is good considering it’s inevitable these days. In general, Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of the Wall Street Journal has had many salutary effects on the paper that far outweigh a few things I could do without.

“That said, the audience for the Journal remains overwhelmingly American, and it serves no one’s purpose to publish a paper that its audience can’t understand. I have noticed a steady increase in the use of British phrases that aren’t commonly, if ever, used by Americans.

“Today’s offender was the most prominent I’ve noticed. A front-page, above-the-fold caption for this perfectly fine fashion story, accompanied by a picture of an improbably coiffed Gwen Stefani, reads as follows: ‘There is no doubt Gwen Stefani has come out a winner in the fashion world, but other celebrity designers have come a cropper amid the recession.’

Read more here.

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