‘Talent Will Out’ (Via the Back Door)

John Corcoran’s article on interpreting news cliches into “real-speak” (“What Newscasters Say [and What They Mean],” Counterpunch, Feb. 16) prompts me to add a few that undoubtedly were used by his former TV station (but could be applied to any major market TV news operation):

“Regrettably, John Corcoran is no longer with us.” (The dumbing-down of our target audience sealed his doom.)

“We know he’ll be successful in his future endeavors.” (We fear he’s going to end up in the movie business.)

“Talent will out.” (If there’s a choice between talent and youth, guess which goes out the door.)

PATRICK STONER

Film critic, WHYY-TV

Philadelphia

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Corcoran’s comments really “hit the nail on the head” on the subject of “media hype.”

Thanks for printing articles from so many talented writers.

JUDY BAGGS

Via e-mail