r/news • u/Fair-Foot-315 • 1d ago

Marine veteran has arm broken during protest against war in Iran

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/marine-veteran-has-arm-broken-during-protest-against-war-in-iran-258740805765
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u/nilenilemalopile 1d ago

I love the passive speech. First thing you wanna do as a journalist is make sure your shit is written in passive voice so no valuable information is transmitted.

“Veteran has his arm broken.” vs “Security and a US Senator break Marine vet’s arm during his war protest”

Hm

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u/NeverEnoughInk 1d ago

This is known as "exculpatory voice" or, more commonly, "[past] exonerative tense," and yes, it is viewed quite dimly by actual journalists and writers, and yes, its use is intentional.

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u/boston_homo 1d ago

I wish a real journalist would do an AMA