More Fun With Lexis-Nexis:
What’s a Synonym for Cliche?

Call it the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

It’s that moment when you roll your eyes while reading the morning paper after coming across another lazy cliche - when a person in the news is described with the same trite adjective for the umpteenth time.

Here’s a list in descending order of cliches used by lazy journalists around the world, counting the number of Nexis references in which a celebrity’s name appears within 10 words of the cliche.

Rudy Giuliani … hero (or heroic): 1,143
(oddly, 178 of those references were pre-9/11)

Britney Spears … pop tart: 786

Paris Hilton … sexy: 368

Katie Couric … perky: 328

Hugo Chavez … firebrand: 327

Tom Cruise … crazy: 181

Also, check out the previous editions of our “Fun With Lexis-Nexis” weekly series which debuted last month:

Getting Our Priorities Straight, ‘Fear’ Factor of NY Times Sources, The NY Times’ Anonymous Sources

Popularity: 2%

This entry was posted on Friday, May 5th, 2006 at 1:40 pm and is filed under Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “More Fun With Lexis-Nexis:
What’s a Synonym for Cliche?”

1. Chris Says:
   May 5th, 2006 at 4:51 pm

   Reporters are uncreative, as I prove through FUN WITH GOOGLE NEWS:

   “A tragic accident”: 1,030 hits

   “An unfortunate accident”: 230 hits

   “A hilarious accident”: 0 hits

   “A stupefying accident”: 0 hits

   “An unexplained accident”: 1 hit (a review of anime smash “Cowboy Bebop: The Movie”)

   Proving, once again, that reporters understand, and are saddened by, all accidents. Coop, I’m looking at you.

2. Jossip Says:
   May 10th, 2006 at 3:37 pm

   Atoosa Rubenstein Remained a Virgin, But Not By Choice…

   Seventeen editor Atoosa Rubenstein, speaking at last night’s Candie’s Foundation event: In high school, no one wanted to have sex with me! And suddenly, The ‘Toosa’s want to edit a teen magazine becomes clear: When you define what’s sexy for……

3. Gawker Says:
   May 10th, 2006 at 5:04 pm

   Remainders: Toos Is a Virgin Who Can’t Drive…

   • Seventeen EIC Atoosa Rubenstein continues to drop verbal gems wherever she goes. At Gotham Hall last night, she let……