On his old talk show, Irv Kupcinet liked to refer to “the lively art of conversation,” and that was exactly what you could expect from his guests: an intelligent, literate, sophisticated group, respectfully sharing thoughts and ideas. It was fun to watch because it was so different from all the other talk programs on the air. You’d actually learn something, and you’d be left with a good feeling about the experience.

Spoken English, while generally less formal than print, still needs to have structure. It can’t be sloppy, haphazard, or anything less than carefully thought out. When you understand the rules, apply them properly and take advantage of the richness of the language to communicate clearly and effectively, the result can indeed be lively, even a work of art.

Slang and street talk have no place here. Sloppy English is disrespectful and imprecise, two unforgivable newswriting sins no matter how “cutting edge” you want to be.

By default, newswriters have been given an extra responsibility. We teach. Not just current events or history. We teach English. In many homes, TV is not just a source of entertainment, but also the most powerful medium for learning the language. They watch us, they hear us, and they talk like us. We should take that additional mission seriously.

It comes down to respect and responsibility. Respect for the people we’re talking to, respect for the message we’re sending, and taking responsibility for the impact of our work. We’ll never do it perfectly, nor should we worry so much about it that we stifle or second-guess ourselves into mediocrity. To win that conversational tug of war, it may help to keep a few things in mind:

Conversational is Clever - Go ahead and try a smart turn of phrase, an alliteration, a metaphor, or a little outside-the-box storytelling. Varying your style keeps you sharp, and your viewers interested. Just be careful not to be SO clever that your reference is obscure, and the audience gets distracted or, worse, doesn't get it at all!

Conversational is Complete - You wouldn't deliberately leave out critical stuff in a conversation with your friend, would you? So make sure your TV news conversations contain all the major points your audience should know. No need to overload them with every last minute detail, but make sure they get the essentials, and don't assume they know all the background either!

Conversational is Careful - Once I wrote a story about apartment buildings for a Los Angeles station. I used the term "doorman". The Executive Producer gently told me, an ex-New Yorker, "We don't have doormen here." I've also had to discard many Yiddish words that may have worked in one part of the country, but not elsewhere. Just as I'm not about to use my viewers' particular slang, I don't expect them to know mine, either.

Conversational is Correct - Proper English. Period. The rules are there for a reason. One standard for everybody is the best assurance of clarity, and the best defense against transmitting your own bad habits to others.

It’s always been a good idea to keep one person in mind when you write, preferably a best friend, to help you focus on being conversational. But perhaps now, when ever more outrageous excesses are likely, perhaps we need to keep several people in mind as we craft our stories. Maybe we should also think about our children sitting there watching. Maybe we should think of our mothers watching too. Perhaps in addition to a best friend test, we should take a respect test, and a responsibility test as well. By all means, let’s be bold, let’s be innovative, let’s be cutting edge. But let’s also remember why we’re here.

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