Nonsense press release: 'or on the taxpayer'

One of my colleagues has pointed out a good bit of nonsense in a recent government press release. The emphasis is mine:

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said:

"This is targeted action with a capped budget and for a limited time, designed to boost the whole motor trade. This will ensure that the benefits of a scrappage scheme are balanced with the needs of other sectors of the car industry such as the second hand market, maintenance and repair businesses, and other industries that produce consumer durables or on the taxpayer.

Just what is that final 'or on the taxpayer' doing? Does Mandelson mean 'and with the needs of the taxpayer'?

Press release: stop next generation dying

One of my colleagues recently passed me a press release from road safety charity Brake with the following headline:

Local education project to stop next generation dying

Quite an ambitious – and worrying – aim!

London Lite, Apple, iTunes and headline-writing

The London Lite made an interesting headline choice today. Here's the headline in question and part of the story:

Apple slices 20p off iTunes songs

Apple is introducing a new pricing structure to iTunes, meaning the cost of some tracks will fall by 20p to 59p. From April, a three-tiered system will see songs priced at 59p, 79p and 99p. Currently, all tracks cost 79p.

The London Lite could easily have gone with a negative rather than positive headline - after all, some songs are increasing in price by 20p. It would have been just as accurate, and we all know that bad news sells.

So why didn't it? Perhaps because the headline writer liked the play on words of 'Apple slices', or perhaps because the original press release was also positive (as press releases invariably are). Perhaps, for some reason, the London Lite didn't want to upset Apple. Who knows?

Press releases: BVRLA / BVLRA

I am impressed by this press release from the BVRLA. In the first sentence it calls itself the British Vehicle Leasing and Rental Association – wouldn't that be the BVLRA? It's a bit difficult to read the image below so click to see an enlarged version.

Now I don't know much about media relations, but I would assume that getting your own organisation's name right is probably a good first step.

Learn your roots: verbiage

Our delightful and erudite news editor sashayed through the engine room hatch t'other day chortling over a newly arrived press release. Not the first time I've heard her react in this was to a press release, of course, but in this case the cause of her mirth was the heading: "VERBIAGE".

No doubt someone at the PR agency thought verbiage means 'words' from the Latin verbum. Not so. It's from 19th century French and means "excessively lengthy or technical speech".

Oh, the perils of neglecting a classical edukashun.