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Reporter mispronouces Utica
- Thread starter dustintv
- Start date
Try pronouncing the expressway in Buffalo named after the Native American woman. ;D
I've heard it said so many ways, they would have better luck changing the name to the Bob Smith Expressway.
I've heard it said so many ways, they would have better luck changing the name to the Bob Smith Expressway.
Mis-speaking
Are you referring to the venerable Scajaquada Expressway? If so, the name is an Anglicization of the American Indian name that Red Jacket assumed when he became a Seneca chief - Sagoyewatha.
The pronunciation is skuh-jack'-wuh-duh. NY'ers arriving at Buffalo State typically wander the campus looking for the skah'-juh-quad'-duh dorms.
BTW - the ultimate mispronunciation of Utica came from Alice Cooper after touring there in the '70s. He tagged it as Uterus, NY...
Mark_Giardina said:
Are you referring to the venerable Scajaquada Expressway? If so, the name is an Anglicization of the American Indian name that Red Jacket assumed when he became a Seneca chief - Sagoyewatha.
The pronunciation is skuh-jack'-wuh-duh. NY'ers arriving at Buffalo State typically wander the campus looking for the skah'-juh-quad'-duh dorms.
BTW - the ultimate mispronunciation of Utica came from Alice Cooper after touring there in the '70s. He tagged it as Uterus, NY...
J
jfc40ts
Guest
Hopefully, working in Rochester, he knows better than stumble over places like Bergen, Charlotte and Chili...
J
JohnW
Guest
Someone could pronounce it AY-von. (The A as in bay, play, tray,etc.) And, don't forget Chili and Nunda.
KML-224 said:
If you're not from the area, you're probably pronouncing Avon like the cosmetics company, with a long A and a short O, or pronouncing it with a short A and an O that sounds more like a short I. Neither pronunciation is correct for Avon NY.
Leicester NY is nowhere near Worcester MA, and many folks who are not from New England cannot pronounce Worcester either. (BTW, I thought the local pronunciation was actually WISS-tuh.) And Leicester NY is not pronounced LIE-ster either. About a dozen years ago, part of the salt mine under Leicester NY collapsed during a minor earthquake. The news reporters here in Phoenix AZ absolutely butchered the name of the town. Forgivable in Phoenix AZ; unforgivable in Rochester NY.
JohnW said:
I did forget Nunda, but Chili was already mentioned. I also forgot Piffard and Canaseraga.
For those of you playing at home:
Avon: AV-von (short a, short o)
Bergen: BER-jin
Canaseraga: can-nuh-suh-RAY-guh
Charlotte: shar-LOT
Chili: CHIE-lie
Honeoye/Honeoye Falls: HUN-ee-oy
Leicester: LESS-ter (which, I believe, is the correct British pronunciation)
LeRoy: luh-ROY (LEE-roy is also commonly heard)
Nunda: nun-DAY
Piffard: puh-FARD
J
JohnW
Guest
C'mon - if you're a native, there's no R in Charlotte. It's pronounced sha-LOT.
Let's not leave out Conesus.
It's not unusual for someone who just recently moved to a new community to mispronounce names. The smart thing would be for local stations to either come up with a list of names and their correct pronunciation; or better yet have an assignment editor work with a newbie from out-of-town.
What I don’t understand is that many videographers have been around a lot longer than some reporters. If they are doing a taped story and the reporter mispronounces the name of a town, street, whatever, why doesn’t the videographer stop rolling tape and inform the reporter of their mistake and then start rolling again? It’s different during a live shot, but there is no excuse for a package that contains a mispronounced name.
It's not unusual for someone who just recently moved to a new community to mispronounce names. The smart thing would be for local stations to either come up with a list of names and their correct pronunciation; or better yet have an assignment editor work with a newbie from out-of-town.
What I don’t understand is that many videographers have been around a lot longer than some reporters. If they are doing a taped story and the reporter mispronounces the name of a town, street, whatever, why doesn’t the videographer stop rolling tape and inform the reporter of their mistake and then start rolling again? It’s different during a live shot, but there is no excuse for a package that contains a mispronounced name.
This topic has had a lot of play on the Texas TV Board as well. The crew at KTVT in Dallas are the favorite whipping boys there.
You're right about the videographer: he/she could help out on a taped report, but - and let me give the disclaimer here that I'm not in the broadcast business at all - I would think that anyone wishing to have a career on-air should at least do some homework before going on camera and inquire about unusual place and street name pronunciations from those who have been in the area awhile, like, for example, their videographer.
The last thing you want is to embarrass yourself on-air. "You-TEEK-uh" is embarrassing.
You're right about the videographer: he/she could help out on a taped report, but - and let me give the disclaimer here that I'm not in the broadcast business at all - I would think that anyone wishing to have a career on-air should at least do some homework before going on camera and inquire about unusual place and street name pronunciations from those who have been in the area awhile, like, for example, their videographer.
The last thing you want is to embarrass yourself on-air. "You-TEEK-uh" is embarrassing.
If a mispronunciation airs during a taped package, both the reporter AND shooter should be blamed. Instead of pointing the finger at just one, they're both at fault, because you're both right: the reporter should do his/her homework, and the shooter should speak up and say something.
I'm sure there are times when a reporter records his/her track with JUST enough time for the shooter to get it edited before it needs to hit the air. By the time the mistake is discovered, it's too late to have the reporter retrack a corrected version. What do you do then? I think the best answer is to alert the producer the package won't be ready in time, and have the reporter retrack it. Letting a mistake purposely hit the air "because we didn't have enough time to fix it" is unacceptable... especially considering it could have been avoided in the first place for the reasons mentioned above.
Sure, rearranging rundowns at the last minute because of a late package is a pain in the neck. But it's better than letting a bad pronunciation hit the air.
I'm sure there are times when a reporter records his/her track with JUST enough time for the shooter to get it edited before it needs to hit the air. By the time the mistake is discovered, it's too late to have the reporter retrack a corrected version. What do you do then? I think the best answer is to alert the producer the package won't be ready in time, and have the reporter retrack it. Letting a mistake purposely hit the air "because we didn't have enough time to fix it" is unacceptable... especially considering it could have been avoided in the first place for the reasons mentioned above.
Sure, rearranging rundowns at the last minute because of a late package is a pain in the neck. But it's better than letting a bad pronunciation hit the air.
Mark, dhett, Bobross, you all are right. But the things you mention require one or more of the following:
A. time to correct the mistake
B. people who know the difference
C. people who give a ------
D. people who are B. or C. watching the on-air product
While these are things that you might depend on at a REAL news operation, they are few and far between here, and you definitely cannot depend on them, or assume that the people whose job it is to do these things will do them. Quite pathetic, actually.
EDIT: While I'm at it, I might as well take the leap and ask "Well, why are these incompetent fools running the operation?" And the obvious answer is that the good ones cost more. They don't all cost outrageous sums. They cost what they're worth. At some point you gotta make the decision...how committed are you to product quality vs costs.
A. time to correct the mistake
B. people who know the difference
C. people who give a ------
D. people who are B. or C. watching the on-air product
While these are things that you might depend on at a REAL news operation, they are few and far between here, and you definitely cannot depend on them, or assume that the people whose job it is to do these things will do them. Quite pathetic, actually.
EDIT: While I'm at it, I might as well take the leap and ask "Well, why are these incompetent fools running the operation?" And the obvious answer is that the good ones cost more. They don't all cost outrageous sums. They cost what they're worth. At some point you gotta make the decision...how committed are you to product quality vs costs.
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