"gubernatorial" too hard for TV news

[Jesse Sheidlower]

>From the Sacramento Bee, last Thursday:

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 You won't hear reporters or anchors saying "gubernatorial"
 during the local newscasts on Channel 3 (KCRA) -- not if Dan
 Weiser has his way. (And
 as KCRA's top news boss, he usually does.)

 Weiser recently issued a newsroom memo, instructing station staff to say
 hasta la vista to the word "gubernatorial."

 His reasoning? While journalists may be partial to the word (in
 Wednesday's Bee alone, "gubernatorial" appeared in four stories plus an
 index), rarely does it come up in real-world conversations.

 "We're trying to write in the way that people speak, and few people use
 that word," Weiser says. "Nobody says 'gubernatorial.' They say 'candidate
 for governor' or 'running for governor.' I prefer keeping things as easily
 understandable as possible."
-----

<sigh>

Jesse Sheidlower
OED