What do you all think of the coaching of the public for TV?

[Rube]

Anybody else a little creeped out by the way everybody interviewed on TV used the same language like "Life Line"? Obviously they were coached for their interviews and I get the positives of repeated messages in times like this but still.

Any thoughts?

 

[Ashikaga]

The term "lifeline" has been being used on news programs on TV, in magazines, etc. for some time now (probably since the Hanshin-Awaji Quake) and most folks who watch TV, read papers/mags should be familiar with it. Even my mother uses it.

I do find it sort of funny the way a lot of the people, especially the young ones, handle these interviews so well (almost too well). Back when I was younger, being/speaking on TV was a big deal, and I'd imagine most people, including myself, freezing up and getting tongue-tied the moment the red light flashes on the camera, but the kids today answer the questions like the pros. Those taken-straight-from-the-JPOP-lyrics phrases like "ﾅｽv窶堋｢窶堙ｰ窶愿坂?堋ｯ窶堙ｩ", "(窶儂窶堋ｩ窶堙?ﾅ智窶堋ｪ窶堙ｩ" andﾂ "ﾅ陳ｳ窶ｹC窶堙ｰ/ﾆ恥ﾆ陳渉ー窶堙ｰ窶堙?窶堙ｧ窶堋､" come out of them so naturally and effortlessly. It makes me chuckle every time. ﾂ

 

[Half-n-Half]

I would have to agree with Ashikaga. A few of my Japanese friends were referring to the situation in Sendai with buzz words like lifeline. It's like any other language; a phrase or word enters the lexicon and it just gets reinforced over time precisely because it is in the lexicon. I don't think it's intentional coaching by the TV networks but instead cultural coaching.

 

[Elizabeth]

Anybody else a little creeped out by the way everybody interviewed on TV used the same language like "Life Line"? Obviously they were coached for their interviews and I get the positives of repeated messages in times like this but still.
Any thoughts?

Do you ever read NHK or other J-newspapers on the Internet ? They literally import the news releases as the start, middle and end for every story. There is very little if any feature reporting and gathering of original quotes. I'm always shocked if Asahi or Mainichi inserts an even slightly varied expression. Repetitious exposure after canned repetitious exposure...

 

[Rube]

I don't think it's intentional coaching by the TV networks but instead cultural coaching.

Really? It sounded like they were reading off of cue cards to me. When I see 20 people being interviewed and from children to grandparents and they call fit the same same phrase in I can't believe it's just a popular word.