Life Was So Much Easier When There Were Fewer Words

Michael Hedges June 8, 2011 Follow on Twitter

Words and phrases enter common usage in the natural evolution of languages. Media plays a large role in this, simplifying, repeating and popularizing everyday expression. Popular culture is an irresistible force, climbing the most formidable barricades.

The absolute authority on the French language is Le Grand Robert, the dictionary of record. Released this week (June 7) is the 2,112 page 2012 edition of Le Robert Illustré. Transcendent words included in the new edition are vuvuzela (the lovely horn played through the FIFA World Cup in South Africa), caipirinha (Brazil's national cocktail), smartphone (the essential French fashion accessory) and tweet, the verb.

“There is no taboo” against foreign words, said editor Alain Rey. “We prefer courriel to email but we are obliged to note that email is more common and when you are tweeting (French adverb tweetant) there is no way to express it otherwise.” Et Voila!

There was, then, little surprise when French internauts went slightly ballistic when media regulator Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) informed broadcasters (May 27) to stop engaging listeners and viewers with “visit our Facebook page” and “follow us on Twitter” because of a selectively used 1992 rule outlawing surreptitious advertising in broadcast news programs. All European countries ban advertising from newscasts and those rules, like the French law, even keep product names off the air except when the subject of a news item.

“French regulation forbids TV networks to say Facebook or Twitter? My country is screwed,” tweeted French blogger Loic Le Meur, noted by the AP (June 6). As expected Anglo-Saxon media also had a field-day, suggesting it was but another shot fired in French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s war with the internet, social media, modernity. He will face re-election next year, at the moment unopposed.

“We are not the United States where you buy frequencies to broadcast your own TV channel on and then you can do what you want on it,” said CSA spokesperson Christine Kelly, misunderstanding US media law. “In France you don’t buy frequencies to get a TV channel. You ask for it and in return for getting it free, there are rules you must respect, including the 1992 decree.”

“Why give preference to Facebook, which is worth billions of dollars,” explained Ms Kelly, “when there are other social networks that are struggling for recognition. This would be a distortion of competition. If we allow Facebook and Twitter to be cited on air, it’s opening a Pandora’s box. Other social networks will complain to us, saying ‘Why not us?’”

“Perhaps one day Facebook will become a generic term,” she continued, digging deeper, “but for the moment it is a commercial enterprise, a leading one, certainly, but not the only one.” New copies of Le Robert Illustré  have clearly not been distributed to the CSA.

How French broadcasters will respond is still in question. Most have refused any comment but some have asked whether or not a newspaper, Le Monde or any other, can be cited as a source for a news item. While the CSA’s notification to broadcasters was limited to “sending viewers and listeners to a show’s social network page without mentioning an informative character, the reference to these pages naming the relevant social network is advertising,” some also suspect rulings on mentioning Apple iPhone apps will be next.

Once upon a time, commercial enterprises fought to keep their names from becoming generic terms. Xerox spent millions in media campaigns to keep its name separate from “photocopy.” But, alas, xerox – noun and verb – entered the Oxford English Dictionary. In the post-modern age, the delight of French intellectuals, few are concerned, being a name in the news is, well, like being.

Perhaps brand guardians at Facebook and Twitter might, like the French, swim against the grain, suggested esteemed journalism professor and MediaGuardian columnist Roy Greenslade (June 6 see here). “I have a hunch they would be relieved if the (UK tabloid Daily Mail) itself was banned from using their brand names.  It would then be impossible to see headlines such as Facebook and Twitter make us less human and isolate us from the real world'. A Facebook and Twitter ban at the Mail would surely be a blessing.”

See also in ftm Knowledge

Media in France

French audiences are moving fast to every new platform. Mobile and Web media challenges the old guard while rule makers seek new directions. Media life in France... and a few secrets. includes updated Resources 147 pages PDF (November 2011)

Order here

Social Media Matures (...maybe...)

Hundreds of millions use social media. It has spawned revolutions, excited investors and confounded traditional media. With all that attention a business model remains unclear or it's simply so different many can't see it. What is clear is that there's no turning back. 42 pages, PDF (June 2011)

Order here

Media in Spain - Diverse and Challenged – new

Media in Spain is steeped in tradition. yet challenged by diversity. Publishers hold great influence, broadcasters competing. New media has been slow to rise and business models for all are under stress. Rich in language and culture, Spain's media is reaching into the future and finding more than expected. 123 pages, PDF. January 2018

Order here

The Campaign Is On - Elections and Media

Elections campaigns are big media events. Candidates and issues are presented, analyzed and criticized in broadcast and print. Media is now more of a participant in elections than ever. This ftm Knowledge file reports on news coverage, advertising, endorsements and their effect on democracy at work. 84 pages. PDF (September 2017)

Order here

Fake News, Hate Speech and Propaganda

The institutional threat of fake news, hate speech and propaganda is testing the mettle of those who toil in news media. Those three related evils are not new, by any means, but taken together have put the truth and those reporting it on the back foot. Words matter. This ftm Knowledge file explores that light. 48 pages, PDF (March 2017)

Order here

More ftm Knowledge files here

Become an ftm Individual or Corporate Member to order Knowledge Files at no charge. JOIN HERE!