This seems to be the new word that modern journalists love to use.
Just reading this article, under the picture we see the quote "The controversial episode was aired on Channel 4 last Sunday." However, upon reading the article we only see a complaint, there is no counter argument being made; where is the controversy? In this article it seems a few neighbours complaining about longer opening times creates a 'controversial pizza shop'.
A simple news search of the word controversial and you see it being misused all over the shop. A simple disagreement or dispute is not a controversy. Controversy might be a synonym of dispute but unless we are now living in a 1984-esque world, where 'happy' has the same meaning as 'elated', then I think we can see 'controversy' should be withheld for occasions where there is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate.
When we use these words with no thought, they lose their gravitas. By misusing the word we are putting a television episode and pizza shop on the same pedestal as the right for a woman to have an abortion. Why is it that our society requires medical staff to be qualified, certification to install a boiler, you even need a license to drive a car, and yet there is no qualification or standard required to inform the population of the truth. There is often very little background checking or number work and more often than not the population is simply lied to.
Very recently we were told that there was just 100 cod left in the sea, we then had a celebrity sperm bank being announced on national television. When is quality of output going to be held in higher esteem than quantity and speed of output?
Just reading this article, under the picture we see the quote "The controversial episode was aired on Channel 4 last Sunday." However, upon reading the article we only see a complaint, there is no counter argument being made; where is the controversy? In this article it seems a few neighbours complaining about longer opening times creates a 'controversial pizza shop'.
A simple news search of the word controversial and you see it being misused all over the shop. A simple disagreement or dispute is not a controversy. Controversy might be a synonym of dispute but unless we are now living in a 1984-esque world, where 'happy' has the same meaning as 'elated', then I think we can see 'controversy' should be withheld for occasions where there is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate.
When we use these words with no thought, they lose their gravitas. By misusing the word we are putting a television episode and pizza shop on the same pedestal as the right for a woman to have an abortion. Why is it that our society requires medical staff to be qualified, certification to install a boiler, you even need a license to drive a car, and yet there is no qualification or standard required to inform the population of the truth. There is often very little background checking or number work and more often than not the population is simply lied to.
Very recently we were told that there was just 100 cod left in the sea, we then had a celebrity sperm bank being announced on national television. When is quality of output going to be held in higher esteem than quantity and speed of output?
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