Topic: Media Terminology

The hosts notice a shift in NPR's terminology, where reporters have begun using the term "Gazans" instead of "Palestinians." They suggest this reflects a change in the official style guide, similar to the adoption of terms like "pregnant people." The discussion explores the potential political reasons for swapping these identifiers in news coverage of the conflict.

CNN introduces the term "sane washing" to describe the media's alleged practice of cleaning up Donald Trump's rhetoric to make it sound more conventional. An Associated Press headline is used as an example, where Trump's accusation that Kamala Harris "murdered" someone via border policy was framed as a standard campaign rally. The discussion critiques the media's attempt to pathologize Trump's supporters through new terminology.

On the second anniversary of the conflict in Ukraine, major media outlets like PBS and NPR have adopted the specific term "full-scale invasion" (FSI) to describe the Russian military operation. Critics argue this terminology is a coordinated branding effort that ignores the limited scope of the initial Russian entry into the Donbass region. The war has reached a stalemate with high casualties on both sides and no significant territorial gains.

A media report incorrectly stated that NATO was formed to protect Europe against the "former Soviet Union." The hosts point out that in 1947, it was simply the Soviet Union, and using the term "former" subtly changes the historical context to make it sound like NATO's target was always modern Russia.

Law enforcement officials and media figures like Dana Bash reportedly issued directives to avoid using the word "raid" when describing the FBI's actions at Mar-a-Lago. MSNBC allegedly changed its on-screen graphics to replace "raid" with "search warrant" following internal pushback. The linguistic shift is presented as an attempt by the Department of Justice to frame the event as a routine court-authorized procedure.

A supercut of various news networks reveals the uniform use of the word "baseless" to describe President Trump's claims of voter fraud. The repetition of this specific adjective across multiple outlets is identified as a coordinated messaging effort to dismiss the allegations without investigation.

A legal analyst deconstructs a New York Times article that refers to Joe Biden as "President-elect" while calling Donald Trump "Mr. Trump." This linguistic shift is identified as a deliberate attempt to delegitimize the sitting president before the election results are certified. Similar changes have been noted on social media platforms like Facebook.

The hosts pause to discuss the recent proliferation of the word "conflate" in American media and public discourse. They observe that the term has been adopted by both news anchors and the general public over the last two years. The conversation shifts to how social trends like "bullying" have evolved into the current focus on "hate crimes" and the potential impact on First Amendment rights.

The hosts define industry-specific terms to help new listeners understand their jargon, such as "evergreen" content. They explain that "lede" is spelled L-E-D-E in journalism to prevent the word from accidentally being printed in the final copy. Additionally, they define "ISO" as an isolated recording or standalone clip used during the show's production.

The hosts notice a shift in terminology by The New York Times, which has begun referring to Al-Qaeda simply as "Kaida." They speculate on the reasons for dropping the "Al" prefix and whether it constitutes a rebranding effort by intelligence officials.

Adam Curry proposes the "No Agenda Glossary Project" to track how the media uses or omits specific phrases to slant stories. He notes that the term "isolated incident" has been conspicuously absent from coverage of the Tucson shooting to maintain a narrative of widespread danger.