Globe and Mail public editor: Vulgar? Inoffensive? It depends on how some words are used
Adding a little colour and flair to stories may come at the expense of offending readers.
Some words and phrases will offend some readers. Yesterday, it was a “pretty prime minister” and separately a “union boss.” Months ago, it was “tuchuses.”
Such words are often used to add a little colour and flair in an article, to use less formal language and simply to have a little fun.
On Thursday, Simon Houpt wrote about how media in the United States, feeling exhausted by Donald Trump, seem thrilled to have a distraction with the visit by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“The U.S. media can be as nasty as a rabid pit bull, but throw it a new toy in the shape of a pretty prime minister and it turns into a purring pussycat. Case in point: For the past week, American news outlets have been treating Thursday’s state dinner in Washington as something akin to a debutante ball, each breathlessly outdoing the other in a race to introduce their audience to Justin Trudeau.”
The article further explains that various U.S. outlets have described “Justin Fever” while one unnamed Obama official declared Mr. Trudeau “dreamy, my new political crush.”
Continue reading this on the Globe and Mail website, where it was first published.
