NewsBlues mrsbgrammar Page 7
Mrs. B's Note to You
This is a broadcast news writing reference manual that uses
examples from real life in and around a TV newsroom. It's a
compilation of Mrs. Bluezette's Grammar Corner columns that
appear daily in NewsBlues.com, a website for TV news insiders.
Sometimes Mrs. B's columns respond to letters asking her to answer
a grammar or usage or style question. Sometimes she gives a
platform to readers who have a grammar gripe. Other times, she
teaches a lesson dear to her heart.
Mrs. B asks that you keep in mind as you read this book, or use it for
reference, that because of the nature of the business some letter
writers' connections to stations are no longer current. Some call
letters have changed, not to mention network affiliations. Her hope,
though, is that the writing tips you find in these columns are still
useful and will be for years to come.
Mrs. B made a nuisance of herself in newsrooms for some 20 years
from Ohio to Florida and back. She was an anchor and a reporter
who just couldn't keep her mouth shut when it came to correcting
grammar. She went after misspellings and punctuation mistakes with
a vengeance. Not only was there the risk of confusing the anchors
who had to read the copy, she preached, but such goofs on crawls
and supers risked alienating viewers. And mispronunciations. That
was another crusade. Talk about credibility! If the news operation
were to lose that, what else would matter?
So you see why producers and some fellow anchors and reporters,
even news directors, tried to hide when they saw Mrs. B coming.
What a relief it must have been to them when she retired her hair
spray and heels and found life really did go on after TV news. But
she didn't retire her love of grammar and promoting it.
