Saul Friedman: Be Not a Reformer
Posted at 7:36 pm, October 8th, 2006
Please, ladies and gentlemen of the media. Be very careful during this campaign cycle of using the word “reform,” even if it’s in quotes. I checked wth Google and there are 510,000 hits on “medicare reform,” and 1.7 million on on “social security reform,” and I’ll bet most of them are incorrect or misleading.
Reform generally means change for the better. But too many candidates, most of them Republican, who want to scuttle both programs call that reform.
Reform generally means an improvement. And maybe killing Medicare and Social Security would be an improvement. But that doesn’t mean a reporter has to use the loaded word reform. Why not use the word “change?” Why not ask the candidate what he or she means by reform? And explain it.
October 10th, 2006 at 10:44 pm |
Oh, come on. Don’t be any more dubious than you’ve ever been. If you habitually report every Democratic proposal labeled a “reform” as such, then have the decency to be consistent.
October 12th, 2006 at 5:04 pm |
The very second my eyes light onto the word “reform”, I skip down several sentences, or paragraphs, to discover exactly what is being reformed by the author. Not being reformed by the candidate, no, trying to discover what the reporter has decided needs to be reformed. If the candidate truly used that word in the proper context, then of course use a form of reform. Please don’t use that overused word otherwise. It’s tiring.
October 28th, 2009 at 11:20 pm |
Ooh shoot i just wrote a big comment and as soon as i submitted it it came up blank! Please tell me it worked right? I dont want to write it again if i dont have to! Either the blog glitced out or i am just stuipd, the latter doesnt surprise me lol.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:40 pm |
Good Morning just thought i will let you know i also had a problem with your blog coming up blank also. Must be chimpanzees in the page.