B'ham couple win $250,000 prize on T-V show
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A Birmingham couple are all smiles today after they managed to win a 250,000 dollar first prize on the N-B-C show, "Fear Factor: Psycho."
22-year-old Chad Granger and 21-year-old Lacy [sic] Moulton, both students at Auburn University, beat out five other couples in a series of nauseating and scary stunts. One of the stunts featured Lacy [sic] being dynamited out of the top floor of a mansion.
Another Alabama couple, Ben and Blair Wheeler will get a shot next week at winning a 50,000 dollar prize on the show. The Auburn couple will appear on a one-time "Fear Factor" episode next week.
(And aside from all that, since when did the AP Stylebook change so that the hyphens in "T-V" and "N-B-C" are the preferred way of punctuating an abbreviation?)
Posted by Terry Oglesby at January 18, 2006 01:39 PMTake it from the old radio hand ... what you're reading there is the AP broadcast copy being pawned off as print. There are some stylistic differences for the writers and editors, this one obviously being so that the broadcaster will pronounce the individual letters rather than the acronym as a word.
Sounds stupid and obvious and intuitive, but a big BIG help when reading copy on-air cold. Which happens a lot. And I bet you can hear that and guess who is, and who is not, good at it.
I was good at it.
Another is that the print AP style is to say $75,000, however the broadcast style would say (depending on some in-house variances) something like 75,000 dollars, or 75-thousand-dollars.
Its all for the broadcaster's simplicity. Cause we're simpletons, by nature.
Posted by: Kenny at January 19, 2006 10:37 AMWell that certainly makes sense. How often does air copy wind up as print copy? I noticed the thing about the dollar sign as well and figured it was all of the same type thing, but wasn't sure why.
And no, I don't know WHO you might be talking ::coughBillcoughBolencough:: you might be talking about.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at January 19, 2006 10:58 AMHere in Alabama, all AP roads go through one office in Montgomery, so sometimes there is an overlap like this. A similar story will make it in the hardcopy of The News tomorrow, but a copy editor at the paper or in the bureau will have made the necessary stylistic corrections.
And I'll respectful disagree, while granting there is more than a fair amount of evidence, on your other point. Just last month Mr. Bolen voiced a documentary piece for some volunteer work I do. Almost six minutes, he had only two stumbles to correct.
He's still got it, and the pipes that go with it.
::coughSarahVersercough::
BTW, they are changing that morning show up a smidge. You might find it more to your liking. Armistice Treaties prohibit me from saying much more.
Posted by: Kenny at January 19, 2006 02:47 PMI like it when
she pau
sestosaysomethingand then everythingscrolls off
uhhh, off, the ummmm...
telepr
om
ter.
As for the changes, I'll have to tune in and see what's happening. I still haven't found a place to land yet for morning frivolity. Props to NBC13 for the belly dancers, though.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at January 19, 2006 03:06 PMVeeeeeery nice.
The TelePromter part, I mean. I haven't seen the bellydancers. They took away my teevee at work.
Posted by: Kenny at January 20, 2006 10:26 AMWell, they aren't there every day, but I think they should be.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at January 20, 2006 11:21 AM