You Can Say That Again!

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

According to Bruce Rogers, “Journalists ... should not be harshly
judged for occasional lapses in the use of who versus whom or for
occasional split infinitives or dangling participles. But frequent abuse
of the language is another matter, especially if it is in the broadcast
media. And the offence is even greater if it is heard on the CBC.”
With highly supportive forewords by news anchors Peter Kent (Global
Television) and Lloyd Robertson (CTV), Rogers runs and barks with the
big dogs of broadcasting. This book is aimed primarily at journalism and
broadcasting novices, but it will be enjoyed by anyone who considers
proper English usage both an art form and a public duty. Rogers brings
to this work nearly three decades of public-speaking and broadcasting
experience. The format reflects the book’s intended purpose as a
quick-reference guide.

The chapters sound a tad stodgy with titles like “Pronunciation,”
“Word Origins,” “English: From Sanskrit to Chaucer,”
“Presentation,” and “Radio and TV,” but Rogers spices up his
text with eclectic, entertaining, and occasionally ribald anecdotes
about how the English language can be used and misused. If there is any
flaw to this book, it is that it tries to be all things to all
journalism students. The challenge of speaking English properly is so
huge that Rogers can touch only on the main points. Still, if the
contents of this entertaining book were somehow forcibly implanted in
the heads of all working radio and television personalities, standards
of English usage among Canadian broadcasters would definitely rise.