DEFAMATION LAWSUIT Donald Trump has filed a $500 million lawsuit against Univision Communications after the company scrapped its planned telecast of the July 12 Miss USA beauty pageant as a result of Trumps disparaging ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Youre is a contraction for "you are." For example: ~It looks as if youre (you are) not able to complete the project in ...
TRUMP DUMPED NBCUniversal, under pressure from several Hispanic advocacy groups, is severing its business ties with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The Miss USA pageant, scheduled for July 12, will no longer air on ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." When Mrs. B heard this, her grammar radar activated and she sprang into action: Us reporters do all the heavy lifting. That "us" ...
INTEGRITY RUINED Anyone who has ever answered a newsroom telephone has had to face the reality that most people who call TV news departments to complain generally fell out of the stupid tree and ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." That is one of those words that can make for a bumpy read and, therefore, a bumpy listen. Its also a word that, ...
PLAYING THE TRUMP CARD Univision, the biggest Spanish-language TV network in the US, says it is canceling its coverage of the Miss USA pageant on July 12 to protest "offensive remarks about Mexicans" made ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B wants to remind you that there is no such word as "kudo." The word is kudos. Even though it ends in ...
FROM PI?ATA TO SAVIOR Brian Williamss "demotion" by NBC News executives (who consulted Roger Ailes) is a "win-win for the network," opines Michael Wolff in The Hollywood Reporter. As the proven star, Williams brings ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Weve established that amount refers to quantity, something that you cant count. And if it can be counted, then use number. What about ...
HIDING THE PAIN A debate about the propriety of reporting embarrassing news has erupted in Central Washington State. Terry Chick, 61, a veteran news anchor at Sinclairs KEPR-19-CBS in Pasco, WA (Market #122), was ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B tripped over this sentence in the Washington Post: But dont get your hopes up for landing that job anytime soon: Netflix ...
LONG AND WINDING ROAD When Lester Holt was a young broadcast journalist, he dreamed of one day sitting in Walter Cronkites anchor chair. But that grand ambition faded over the next three decades. Holt ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B rarely uses the word in conversation, but she is fascinated by it. And if you ever decide to use it, she ...
SUDDEN DEATH Bob Barry Jr., the sports anchor for the past 33 years at Tribunes KFOR-4-NBC in OK City (Market #41), died in a traffic accident Saturday afternoon. He was 58. Barry was riding ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Damages are awarded by a court as monetary compensation for loss or injury. Heres an example from a story about American Indian tribes ...
IRON PANTS ON TOP NBC News yesterday named Lester Holt anchor of the networks flagship nightly newscast, permanently replacing Brian Williams, who was suspended from the job in February. Holt, 56, has been a ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Even though we honor all fathers Sunday, Fathers Day is a singular possessive, like Mothers Day. Mrs. Bs father was a preacher, who ...
DOWN BUT NOT OUT NBC is expected to announce today a tentative agreement with Brian Williams to keep him at the network after his six-month suspension ends in August. According to CNN, Williams will ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Sunday is the first day of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, the day of the year when sun is at its greatest ...
BURIED BY THE CO-ANCHOR In the world according to Tom Burlington, he was fired as a reporter and weekend anchor at Fox-owned WTXF-29 in Philadelphia (Market #4) eight years ago for using the word ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Heres a lesson topic courtesy of an assistant news director in Lake Charles, LA. Hi Mrs. B: I recall a lesson you ...
RETIREMENT EXTENDED Cynthia Tinsley, a former anchor at Gannetts WXIA-11-NBC in Atlanta (Market #9) who now does public relations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fronted last nights opening commentary on WGCL-46-CBSs ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Today lets look at, and think about, some of the issues you might encounter with transgender reporting. Mrs. Bs source is the National ...
LOOSE CHANGE Now four months into the lunacy surrounding the media lynching of NBCs Brian Williams, we are struck by the wildly divergent numbers describing his network salary. On Dec. 15, 2014, shortly before ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." In covering the story of the Dallas shooting over the weekend, many writers, reporters, and anchors used the word suspect incorrectly, as in: ...
AWESOMELY EXCLUSIVE The White House held another of its "Live from the White House" media days on Wednesday, inviting anchors from five key western stations to sit down with President Barack Obama and lob ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." When Mrs. B hears a describer word used before an absolute, she grimaces. For example: very unique very favorite most perfect very final ...
ALMOST AS IF PLANNED Meet the first husband and wife anchor team in Kansas City TV history. Just a day after signing off as the morning and noon news anchor at CBS-owned WFOR-4 in ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Lets look at a few words that are often mispronounced even by network anchors and reporters. The correct way to pronounce intravenous is ...
ATTEMPTED MURDER Kyle Kraska, the sports anchor at KFMB-8-CBS in San Diego (Market #28), testified in a preliminary hearing yesterday that Mike Montana (left), the man he hired to paint his house, ambushed him ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." We hear it all the time: "theres a lot of." But sometimes it should be "therere a lot of." How do you know ...
SOFT AND URGENT How on earth did ABCs "No World News with David Muir" become the nations #1-rated nightly network newscast? Dont blame Brian Williams or Lester Holt, says Washington Post media reporter Paul ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Heres one for you that might come in handy. Actually two, thanks to this note to Mrs. B. What is the correct way ...
HITS AND RUNS Liza Danver has been hired as the new primary anchor at Tribunes KFSM-5-CBS in Fayetteville, AR (Market #101). Shell front the 5, 6, 9, and 10 p.m. newscasts with co-anchor Daren ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Stats show that June is still the most popular month to get married. So lets review some marriage-related words, both their meanings and ...
WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME Charnice Milton, 27, a reporter for Capital Community News, was gunned down Wednesday night. Her death was one of four shootings that evening in Southeast DC. A total of six ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B wants you to look at two sets of words that are often confused and misused. To indicate something indirectly is to ...
BOTOX BANDIT Just in time for sweeps, KCPQ-13-Fox in Seattle (Market #14) ran a story two weeks ago about a man who got a Botox treatment, asked for some Dermal Filler for his deep ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B read this on in a Fox Business story and was inspired to write a short lesson: And yet, far too many ...
LINGERING DEATH Dave Benton, the morning news anchor at Nexstars WCIA-3-CBS in Champaign, IL (Market #85) who stepped down in April because brain cancer was affecting his ability to read a TelePrompTer, died yesterday ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. Bs mission today is to help you use affecting and affected in your stories when youre talking about one thing having an ...
SIDEPOD DAVE The IndyCar crew from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing surprised David Letterman by putting a caricature of his face and the "Late Show" logo on the sidepods of Oriol Servias #32 Honda for ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." This day after Memorial Day, Mrs. B shares email from an assignments manager in Fargo: Do we "celebrate" Memorial Day? Also, I am ...
SATIRICAL ATTACK Posters picturing George Stephanopoulos and Hillary Clinton appeared yesterday on bus stops and telephone lines surrounding ABC News headquarters on Manhattans Upper West Side near "Peter Jennings Way" on West 66th between ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." One of Mrs. Bs longtime readers noticed this in an ABC News story: The mayor?s office announced on Thursday that flags will be ...
APPEARS TO BE CORRECT Bruce Carter, the news director at Cordillera Communications-owned WLEX-18-NBC in Lexington (Market #63), says he is confident his station will be proven correct when the final numbers are tallied in ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." A Grammar Yammer reader who identifies himself as "Johnny in Atlanta" writes: My wife and I have reached an impasse determining the correct ...
TOO CLOSE TO CALL An unexpected surge of votes from the western precincts upended yesterdays Republican gubernatorial primary in the state of Kentucky, ending in a virtual dead heat with fewer than 100 votes ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." "Hanged to death" is redundant. Mrs. B was surprised to see the New York Times editorial board use that combination of words: Sometime ...
BULLY OREILLY Three weeks ago, a Nassau County Supreme Court justice ended a bitter three-year custody dispute between Fox News anchor Bill O?Reilly and his ex-wife, Maureen McPhilmy, by granting custody of the couples ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." This email from one of Mrs. Bs readers at a Cleveland advertising agency inspired todays lesson: Didnt you mention in one of your ...
LIVING ON DEBT Nduka Obaigbena, the Nigerian media mogul who started Arise TV, a 24-hour international TV news operation with offices in London, New York, Johannesburg, and Lagos, is now reportedly "living on debt" ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B got this note from a Florida-based journalist: Is it "was" or "were"? Sarasota County School District spokesman Scott Ferguson said none ...
AN HONEST MISTAKE? Former Clintonland insider George Stephanopoulos, who has excelled at both politics and journalism, appears to have failed both professions with a single transgression. Stephanopoulos, the chief anchor at ABC News and ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Thousands of refugees from Myanmar are stranded at sea this morning, and nobody is willing to take them in. Mrs. B reminds you ...
THE TIDE TURNS We showed you video yesterday of CityNews reporter Shauna Hunt confronting a pack of soccer stadium boneheads in Toronto after one of them dropped the "FHRITP bomb" on her. Video of ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." A plaintive plea from a Grammar Yammer reader influenced Mrs. B to offer this admonition today: please dont "un" the "in" words. Take ...
OFF THE RAILS A seven-car Amtrak train headed to New York City derailed in Philadelphia about 9:30 Tuesday night, killing six and injuring more than 140. Some of the injured are in critical condition. ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." The 68th annual Cannes Film Festival begins today in Cannes, in the South of France, and Mrs. B hopes youll pronounce it "can" ...
COMPLETELY WRONG Tom Brokaw, making a rare appearance on Fox News Monday night (to promote his latest book), said almost every comment attributed to him during the Brian Williams debacle has been "completely wrong." ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B received this message from a Nashville teacher, wondering if she could vent: My pet peeve is overuse of the word "basically," ...
VIOLENT END Nicholas Scolatti, 36, the estranged husband of Kalee Scolatti, the news director at Cowles Publishings KTMF-23/42-ABC-Fox in Missoula, MT (Market #165) and KWYB-18/28 ABC-Fox in Bozeman (Market #186), died Friday morning from ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." A number takes a plural verb. For example: ~A number of stations are using freelance talent. ~A number of our reporters and photographers ...
MONTANA MURDER Kalee Scolatti, the news director since January at Cowles Publishings KTMF-23/42-ABC-Fox in Missoula, MT (Market #165) and KWYB-18/28 ABC-Fox in Bozeman (Market #186), died early Wednesday evening in an apparent double murder ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mothers Day is coming up Sunday and Fathers Day next month. Mrs. B wants you to notice the possessive of these two holidays ...
CAPTAIN EHAB OUSTED Al Jazeera America announced on Wednesday that it was replacing its chief executive, Ehab Al Shihabi, who had held that position since the networks founding two years ago. It was the ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." In this season of graduation, Mrs. B notes that the AP Stylebook recommends capitalizing academic degrees: Master of Science Master of Arts Bachelor ...
DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION Two years ago, Al Jazeera spent $500 million to buy Current TV to start an American cable news channel that it hoped would be thoughtful, probing, and smart. The Qatar government-owned company ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Lets get our terms right as we report on graduation speeches. The podium is the raised platform the speaker steps up onto. Think ...
ERRONEOUS REPORT Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin erroneously reported Monday afternoon that Baltimore police shot a man in the same neighborhood where unrest broke out last week. Shep Smith corrected the mistake 30 minutes ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Today is Cinco de Mayo. That means "fifth of May" in Spanish and commemorates the victory of the Mexican army over the French ...
MOUSE HOUSE Dominic Mancuso, who was hired last year to replace Bill Applegate as vice president and general manager at Raycoms WOIO-19-CBS and WUAB-43-MyTV in Cleveland (Market #19), was surprised to find the station ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B hopes you wont leave out the "from" when graduating. For example: More people are turning toward a career in nursing with ...
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL Dawne Gee, a veteran anchor of more than 20 years at Raycoms WAVE-3-NBC in Louisville (Market #49), has filed a lawsuit against Baptist Health Louisville over alleged "negligent" treatment she received ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B begins todays lesson with a request from an assistant news director in Lake Charles, LA: Id love a refresher explaining "everyone" ...
NO MONKEYING AROUND Scrippss last-place WKBW-7-ABC in Buffalo (Market #52) and independent WBBZ-67 yesterday both suspended their relationships with weekly nostalgia-feature contributor "Airborne" Eddy Dobosiewicz after he posted a Twitter feed saying people in ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B knows its time for a lesson on punctuation with quotation marks. She also knows you dont want to think about it. ...
TOUGH LOVE MOM Todays Emmy Award? goes to the New York Post front page editor who came up with the riotous headline: "Forget the National Guard… Send in the Moms." Its accompanied by a ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." A letter from a reader who wishes to remain anonymous begins todays lesson: Would you explain the connotative difference between "averse" and"adverse"? Im ...
DAMNED IF YOU DO Television was filled with images of Baltimore burning Monday night. And therein lies the conundrum. To show the pictures of hooded boneheads burning and robbing gives the impression that citizens ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Every time Mrs. B thinks of Mrs. Bobo, her senior English teacher in high school, she thinks of the everyone lesson: Everyone in ...
EMBELLISHMENT SPIRAL NBC executives met in a conference room Thursday morning at the networks Rockefeller Center headquarters for a briefing about the investigation into Brian Williamss embellishments. The meeting, according to the Washington Post, ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Lets do the other half of the epithet lesson. Weve talked about how an epithet can be a hurtful or abusive expression, as ...
STRONG OPPOSITION Journalists at NBCs powerful Washington bureau expressed strong opposition to the return of Brian Williams during a contentious meeting with NBC News President Deborah Turness in February. Details of the meeting are ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." To use whether or whether or not. That is todays lesson. Take a look at this example of when you dont need the ...
STORM BREWING In yet another sign that all is not well at The Weather Channel, Dish Network quietly announced this week that WeatherNation has been added to its lineup. The Dish carriage contract expires ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B noticed this headline: Temperatures expected to begin warming Temperatures arent warm or cool (or hot or cold); the weather is warm ...
WHAT GOES AROUND Elbert Tucker, who has been news director at Dispatch-owned WBNS-10-CBS in Columbus (Market #32) since 2010, is headed west on I-70 to become ND at Media Generals WISH-8-CW in Indianapolis (Market ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." That Surly Editor? of ours likes to tease. This was his headline for Grammar Yammer Tuesday on the principal parts of the verb ...
APOLOGY REQUIRED Jim Cramers financial website, "The Street," reports that suspended NBC News anchor Brian Williams "will need to make a public apology for alleged fabrications" before the network will consider reinstating him. The ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Ruh oh. Mrs. B was surprised to see a verb mistake in this Washington Post story: On Thursday, the Disney-owned network rung up ...
BOORISH BEHAVIOR The New York Post and USA Today agree that ESPN "got it wrong" when it suspended DC-based reporter Britt McHenry for a week. But they arrive at the same conclusion from different ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." The 2015 Pulitzer Prize winners and nominated finalists will be announced this afternoon at 3:00 eastern time. The correct pronunciation of Pulitzer is ...
ESPN MEAN GIRL ESPN has suspended reporter Britt McHenry for a week after a video of her berating a towing company employee went viral Thursday. The incident occurred earlier this month after McHenrys car ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Mrs. B begins todays lesson with a letter from a Houston meteorologist: I dont know the last time you addressed this, but I ...
PREDATORY KICKSTARTER Former NBC correspondent Chris Hansens KickStarter campaign to raise money for an internet-based series aimed at catching child predators launched at midnight and has already brought in nearly $14,000 from more than ...
MRS. Bs GRAMMAR YAMMER "A PBS mind in a Twitter world." Some of Mrs. Bs readers have asked about a Latin term the Surly Editor uses every now and then: What does [sic] mean? ...
