Friday, April 18, 2008

Think Before You Broadcast

Sometimes I wonder if radio script writers deliberately pull jokes on their news announcers, or if some script writers are simply oblivious to how bizarre some of their material sounds.

Yesterday I was listening to a radio broadcast on my way home from work. An announcer said, “Coming up: the Pope encourages Catholics to build bridges with abuse victims.”

Having a somewhat quirky sense of humor, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Wouldn’t that be adding insult to injury? Besides, I’m not sure what kind of structural integrity such a bridge would have. Most bridges nowadays are built with steel and concrete.”

Ten minutes later, the same announcer read, “The Pope is encouraging Catholics to reach out to victims of abuse.” That statement certainly paints a much clearer picture of the message that they wanted to communicate.

Still, the first announcement made me chuckle. And I can’t help but wonder what happened in the newsroom between the two announcements.

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