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(RANT) Does the tangential writing on internet news sites annoy you?

K

Kev

Lifer
Why do news sites feel the need to ramble on and on in their articles, and go off on every tangent about a given subject?

For example (I just saw this in a recent thread): here.

The content of the actual story described in the headline is 187 words. However the article goes on for another 776 words babbling about every related thing the author can think of.

As a person with experience editing copy, it's really annoying that these professional writers can never stick to the topic and keep a story concise. Why do news writers do this?
 
Originally posted by: maladroit
Originally posted by: Moonbeam
The title makes 4 times.
Click to expand...

Actually it doesn't.
Click to expand...
You're right. That makes 6 😛 These all sound like the same thing to me:

"tangential writing"
"ramble on "
"go off on every tangent about a given subject"
"babbling about every related thing the author can think of"
"never stick to the topic"
"[never] keep a story concise"
 
Originally posted by: Deslocke
Originally posted by: maladroit
Originally posted by: Moonbeam
The title makes 4 times.
Click to expand...

Actually it doesn't.
Click to expand...
You're right. That makes 6 😛 These all sound like the same thing to me:

"tangential writing"
"ramble on "
"go off on every tangent about a given subject"
"babbling about every related thing the author can think of"
"never stick to the topic"
"[never] keep a story concise"
Click to expand...

pwn3d
 
Originally posted by: Deslocke
Originally posted by: maladroit
Originally posted by: Moonbeam
The title makes 4 times.
Click to expand...

Actually it doesn't.
Click to expand...
You're right. That makes 6 😛 These all sound like the same thing to me:

"tangential writing"
"ramble on "
"go off on every tangent about a given subject"
"babbling about every related thing the author can think of"
"never stick to the topic"
"[never] keep a story concise"
Click to expand...

Paragraph structure and synonyms and supporting your claim with examples are now considered repitition?

Still not the same as rambling though. Oh well I guess my rant missed its mark. I shouldn't have put the word "tangential" in the title, it probably scared too many readers away.



 
Paragraph structure and synonyms and supporting your claim with examples are now considered repitition?

Still not the same as rambling though. Oh well I guess my rant missed its mark. I shouldn't have put the word "tangential" in the title, it probably scared too many readers away.
Click to expand...

It scared me. Makes me think of tangerines...
 
Actually the word tangential was why I took the turn I did. 😀 It reminded me of grazing somebody's head with a bullet.

Is it any coincidence that as an experienced editor you are hyper critical of other's product and have maybe a little bit of a need to show off. I know how that tempts me sometimes so forgive me if I project inaccurately.

Just because people are transparent doesn't mean you don't like them. We are all the same. 😀
 
tangerines - a mix between a mandarin orange and a bitter orange.

Keep them away from me, you horrible, terrible scientists, with your twisted, inhumane Frankenstein fruit.
 
Originally posted by: maladroit
Paragraph structure and synonyms and supporting your claim with examples are now considered repitition?

Still not the same as rambling though. Oh well I guess my rant missed its mark. I shouldn't have put the word "tangential" in the title, it probably scared too many readers away.
Click to expand...
Sheesh .. I was just having some fun but now you are making me angry so I will proceed to make a fool of myself. 1-2 sentences per line does not denote "paragraph structure," especially if each paragraph says the same thing as the previous one. You could have said the same thing like this:

Why do news sites feel the need to ramble on and on in their articles? This article for example explains the story in 187 words words then proceeds to babble about every related topic for 776 more words. Why do news writers do this?

/\ compare lengths \/

Why do news sites feel the need to ramble on and on in their articles, and go off on every tangent about a given subject? For example (I just saw this in a recent thread): here. The content of the actual story described in the headline is 187 words. However the article goes on for another 776 words babbling about every related thing the author can think of. As a person with experience editing copy, it's really annoying that these professional writers can never stick to the topic and keep a story concise. Why do news writers do this?

As a person with no experience editing copy, it is really annoying to see a professional writer who thinks he is superior to others in his field but really isn't. Why are people like this? Yadda yadda yadda ..
 
Originally posted by: yowolabi
Paragraph structure and synonyms and supporting your claim with examples are now considered repitition?

Still not the same as rambling though. Oh well I guess my rant missed its mark. I shouldn't have put the word "tangential" in the title, it probably scared too many readers away.
Click to expand...

It scared me. Makes me think of tangerines...
Click to expand...

Not me....

It makes me think of what happened to me last night 😱

🙂
 
Don't leave yet, things are just getting hot, the right tangerature...err...temperature. As my friend in Tangeria...err...Tanzania always said, "you can't run away from your creation, because it'll hunt you down to the north pole", or was that the story of Frankenstein?? Whatever.
 
Originally posted by: Deslocke
Originally posted by: maladroit
Paragraph structure and synonyms and supporting your claim with examples are now considered repitition?

Still not the same as rambling though. Oh well I guess my rant missed its mark. I shouldn't have put the word "tangential" in the title, it probably scared too many readers away.
Click to expand...
Sheesh .. I was just having some fun but now you are making me angry so I will proceed to make a fool of myself. 1-2 sentences per line does not denote "paragraph structure," especially if each paragraph says the same thing as the previous one. You could have said the same thing like this:

Why do news sites feel the need to ramble on and on in their articles? This article for example explains the story in 187 words words then proceeds to babble about every related topic for 776 more words. Why do news writers do this?

/\ compare lengths \/

Why do news sites feel the need to ramble on and on in their articles, and go off on every tangent about a given subject? For example (I just saw this in a recent thread): here. The content of the actual story described in the headline is 187 words. However the article goes on for another 776 words babbling about every related thing the author can think of. As a person with experience editing copy, it's really annoying that these professional writers can never stick to the topic and keep a story concise. Why do news writers do this?

As a person with no experience editing copy, it is really annoying to see a professional writer who thinks he is superior to others in his field but really isn't. Why are people like this? Yadda yadda yadda ..
Click to expand...

Jeez, you're taking this way too seriously.

This is a thread on an internet forum. You're lucky I used punctuation, let alone edited my post to publish-worthy material. I typed up a quick rant and maybe repeated the same thing a few times, big deal. That's not the same as rambling. Now it's time for me to go home. Home is where I go when work is over. I take the bus to go home. The bus comes at 5:45 so I better hurry. Last week there was a lot of traffic so it didn't come on time. Maybe I will luck out today. Today incidentally is Monday, the first day of the week. It comes after Sunday and before Tuesday. Now this is rambling. Happy now? Now you can bitch at me for rambling. Did I mention I like hot dogs? I like them with mustard too.
 
Originally posted by: maladroit

Jeez, you're taking this way too seriously.

This is a thread on an internet forum. You're lucky I used punctuation, let alone edited my post to publish-worthy material. I typed up a quick rant and maybe repeated the same thing a few times, big deal. That's not the same as rambling. Now it's time for me to go home. Home is where I go when work is over. I take the bus to go home. The bus comes at 5:45 so I better hurry. Last week there was a lot of traffic so it didn't come on time. Maybe I will luck out today. Today incidentally is Monday, the first day of the week. It comes after Sunday and before Tuesday. Now this is rambling. Happy now? Now you can bitch at me for rambling. Did I mention I like hot dogs? I like them with mustard too.
Click to expand...

By the way, you misspelled "repetition" in an earlier post. Just thought I'd share.
 
Never make a man eat his rant. It's bad, apparently, for the digestion. 😀

Now we'll never know, I guess, what evil lurks in the hearts of repetative ramblers.

I'm just a repetative rambler, rambling along to the tumbling tumble weed:

See them tumbling down
Pledging their love to the ground
Lonely but free I'll be found
Drifting along with the tumbling tumble weed
Cares of the past are behind
Nowhere to go but I'll find
Just were the trail will wind
Drifting along with the tumbling tumble weed
I know when night has gone
That a new world's born at dawn
I'll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart is a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumble weed
I know when night has gone
That a new world's born at dawn
I'll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart is a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumble weed
 
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