This is the second volume of Melvin J. Lasky's The Language of
Journalism series, praised as a "brilliant" and "original" study in
communications and contemporary language, and as "a joy to read."
When it was first published, it broke ground in focusing on the
comparative styles and prejudices of mainstream American and
British newspapers, and in its trenchant analysis of their
systematic debasement of language in the face of obligatory
platitudes and compulsory euphemisms.
Lasky documents the growing crisis affecting honest, thoughtful,
and independent journalism in the Western world. He extends the
scope of his first volume in the trilogy and deepens the
interpretation. He also adds a personal touch of wit and anecdote,
as one might expect from an experienced international journalist
and historian. Lasky's examination of the use of formerly forbidden
language is a triumph of sinuous semantics. In his incisive
analysis, we see the tortuous struggle of a once Puritanized
literary culture writhing to break free of censorship and
self-censorship.
This volume on the phenomenon of profanity adds another
dimension to Lasky's thesis on mass culture's trivialization of
real social and political phenomena. It also underscores our
society's embrace of banality, in standardizing politically correct
jargon and slang. Readers of the first volume will find here a new
range of references to illuminate the detail of what our newspapers
have been publishing.
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