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Tinamou: “We’re ready to call it. Month Without Metaphor is a roaring success.”

May 28, 2015 By Juho Morsk, TMD Media Reporter

MonthWMAlvin Tinamou has never been one to shy away from anything, be it controversy or, as in this case, success.

In fact, the publisher of The Avian Messenger and one of the organizers of May’s annual Month Without Metaphor (MWM) admits that he happily “goes where other species fear to tread.”

And so it was last year, when Tinamou trod into the minefield of Park journalism and had the audacity to suggest that its descriptions were “overblown” and that our journalism overused metaphors to explain simple concepts.

“I was vilified, of course,” he said yesterday, at the conclusion of his radio show on AVN Radio (286.7).

“But then, something happened. In the silence that followed all the calls for me to apologize, it appeared that some actual thought occurred on the part of editors and reporters. And much to my surprise, many of The Park’s media signed on to my ‘great experiment’ to see if we could leave behind many of the standard metaphors that have become the hallmark of Park media and tell our stories in a much cleaner way. Not simpler in terms of concept, but in terms of language. And, I have to say, it’s been a roaring success, if you’ll excuse the metaphor. We have learned a tremendous amount in the two years the experiment has been going,” he said.

Tinamou’s radio show wraps up on Sunday and he says the challenge now is to keep the momentum going.

“We’ll have to work hard not to slip back into mindless metaphors and similes…to do the work we need to do rather than to be formulaic,” he says.

As for the rumours that he will be joining the Cuthbert School of Journalism at the University of West Terrier this Autumn, Tinamou will say only that he’s “flattered.”

“They’ve not asked me and even if they had, I wouldn’t leave my present position [at The Avian Messenger], even for a part-time faculty appointment,” he says.

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Filed Under: Breaking News, Media, Month Without Metaphor, Park Life Tagged With: journalism, Month Without Metaphor (MWM), overblown metaphors, writing clean

Park’s journalism failing us all: Dean

May 22, 2015 By Juho Morsk, TMD Media Reporter

Don't read that!

“Don’t read that!” says Dean Gertrude C. Owl of UWT’s Cuthbert School of Journalism

“There’s no other way to put it: our  journalism is failing us all in The Park.”

So said Gertrude C. Owl during her guest appearance on Alvin Tinamou’s Month Without Metaphor radio show on Wednesday afternoon.

 I see a creeping Humanization, not in the selection of stories so much, but in the style of reporting. —Gertrude C. Owl, Dean, Cuthbert School of Journalism

The Dean of the Cuthbert School of Journalism at the University of West Terrier went on to launch a scathing attack on Park media. No medium, genre, or publication escaped her criticism, including The Mammalian Daily.

“What are they doing quoting gossip [web] sites, such as headsNTales? What happened to good old investigative journalism? Is it true or is it not true? Are you ready to call it or wait for more confirmation? How does quoting a source at headsNTales substitute for that?” she asked.

Tinamou sounded momentarily stunned, then bounced back to agree with Owl.

“I think we may be pandering to the crowd a bit too much these days. Or, as I say, using overblown language to tell what is an important story,” he said

Owl went further, insinuating that Park media was become “Humanized.”

“I know that reputable publications, such as The Mammalian Daily, cover important Park issues and that they don’t refer to the species of the Animals involved in their stories unless it is of some relevance. But I see a creeping Humanization, not in the selection of stories so much, but in the style of reporting,” she said.

“We have to remember, Humans are very different Animals; we must not emulate them. While Humans seem unable to see the big picture, Park Animals are much more aware of the consequences of actions. We must not always be bringing the story down to one element or one participant. Journalism has a raw power than is diminished by such a tactic.”

Owl, who was a popular guest, will join Tinamou again at the end of the month to discuss what she calls “writing clean.”

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Filed Under: Breaking News, Media, Month Without Metaphor, Park Life Tagged With: journalism, reporting, writing clean, writing style

Lookin’ good, feelin’ fine, lose those metaphors and your prose will shine…Whoops!

May 20, 2015 By Juho Morsk, TMD Media Reporter

Month Without Metaphor

Slice the number of your metaphors in half during the month of May!

The mid-month statistics are in for Park media’s Month Without Metaphor (MWM) and things are looking up.

Whoops!

What we mean is, the numbers are slightly better this year than they were in the event’s inaugural year.

“We are pleased with the results thus far,” says Alvin Tinamou, publisher of The Avian Messenger and one of MWM’s organizers.

“For some reason, though, the radio stations are having more trouble than some of the print publications. Maybe it’s due to the spontaneity factor that is an inherent part of radio.”

That could  well be. And the drop in numbers also speaks well of Park media’s editors and the renewed interest in the idea of “writing clean.” Whatever the reason, Tinamou is hoping the mid-month results will encourage Park publications to further restrict their use of metaphors.

“We’re hoping for a record result at month’s end,” he says.

Here are Month Without Metaphor’s mid-month results in full:

Publication          Number of Infractions
Toro Talk Radio                                171
CLucK Radio                                125
Chitter Radio                                112
The Dingo Boomerang                                 79
Marine Mammal Radio                                 78
The Mollusk Messenger                                 77
The Salamander Evening Post                                 77
Reptile Radio                                 75
The Silvestris Star                                 73
headsNtales                                 73
The Burro Beacon                                 73
The Noodlefish News                                 73
The Canary Courier                                 71
bRaydio 4                                 71
The Halibut Herald                                 71
Maple Tree Television                                 70
The Eagle Star                                 70
The Equine Echo                                 69
The Rodent Commoner                                 67
The Robin Reporter                                 67
The Galliforme Gazette                                 63
The Kaluga Register                                 63
The Cosmopolitan Pest                                 60
The Bluebird Free Press                                 58
Vertebrate Vision                                 58
The Insect Intelligencer                                 56
The Panther Post                                 56
The Polar Bear Post                                 54
The Avian Messenger                                 54
PRANCE Magazine                                 52
The Blackbird Informer                                 49
The Ornis Interpreter                                 44
The Mammalian Daily                                 40
LAULAA Magazine                                 37
The Raccoon Reporter                                 30
The Simian Spectator                                 30
The Marsupial Messenger                                 29
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Filed Under: Breaking News, Media, Month Without Metaphor Tagged With: Month Without Metaphor, news writing, reporting, telling it like it is, writing clean

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