Post by jillboston on Nov 11, 2014 12:02:06 GMT -5
Does anyone have thoughts on why The Newsroom (the first episode of the season focused on the Boston Marathon bombing) would mispronounce Watertown, MA as Waterton? The prevailing thoughts are that it was intentional - but why? They even properly named one of the victims (Martin Richards) and where his memorial was held. It is hard to believe it wasn't intentional.
Post by downtoearth on Nov 11, 2014 12:25:15 GMT -5
I don't know The Newsroom, but I'm guessing someone from outside Boston directed them to say it wrong. We have a Lewistown in our state that everyone calls Lewiston for some reason?!
The thought is that it could have been nothing but. I think if this were another show I might say - well, they just didn't look into the name well enough - but the writers of Newsroom have to be poring over news video while writing the show - they use footage IN the show. If it had been a really obscure part of the story, also maybe, or an understandable mispronunciation based on spelling (Dedham - a suburb is pronounced Deddim not DedHAM for instance). This just seemed .. odd. Plus Sam Waterston is from Cambridge - city right next to Watertown.
"Not gonna lie; I kind of keep expecting you to post one day that you threw down on someone who clearly had no idea that today was NOT THEIR DAY." ~dontcallmeshirley
I can't even begin to come up with a nefarious reason for this. Is it somehow a dig to slightly mispronounce a name of a town? Doesn't it seem more likely that they just got it wrong?
Well, as an east coaster who grew up watching shows set in the east refer to things like "The 95" for years, I pretty much presume everyone in Hollywood gets everything wrong about anything east of Hot Springs.
Post by Skyesthelimit1212 on Nov 11, 2014 14:26:32 GMT -5
I don't watch Newroom, I can't stand Olvia Munn, but in any case, I'll take the mispronunciation of Watertown over the reporter who on the day of the bombing said, "it looks like a bomb went off somewhere." in response to how quiet Watertown was.
I am going to butcher this spelling, but isn't Worchester, Mass actually pronounced "Wooster."
I don't think I would get all up in arms about the name of a MA town being mispronounced. Why is this offensive to you?
it's actually pronounced "wister" or "wooster" depending on where you come from in MA. I could totally understand a one-off mispronunciation of a town like Worcester, Woburn (woooburn) etc. But if you have the proper spelling of Watertown it is impossible to pronounce. This was also not an SNL skit or the Jimmy Kimmel with a one liner. The show was devoted to the subject, it is a fictional news show centered around the news that came out of this event. I'm not really offended because I'm actually starting to think that they were trying to make a point (the point they were making all throughout the show in fact) about how news screws up things - especially when they are trying to get ratings.
I don't know The Newsroom, but I'm guessing someone from outside Boston directed them to say it wrong. We have a Lewistown in our state that everyone calls Lewiston for some reason?!
That's how I would pronounce both of those towns.
cville putting "the" in front of numbers related to freeways/highways is a hotly debated issue in CA. Hollywood is on the "the" side of the split.
Well, as an east coaster who grew up watching shows set in the east refer to things like "The 95" for years, I pretty much presume everyone in Hollywood gets everything wrong about anything east of Hot Springs.
People mispronounce town names ALL THE TIME. Off the top of my head from my travels: Reading PA. (red-ing not like the thing you do with books) Lancaster PA. (it's not Lan-caster. It's closer to Lanc-astir.) Ellicott city (the cott is sorta elided. Ellic't? no idea how to type that.) North Versailles, PA (actually pronounced Ver-sales. As painful as that may be.)
I have heard in-market real life newscasters say every single one of those wrong.
And tangent - there was a traffic guy on one of our local radio stations that mispronounced the name of the company sponsoring the traffic report wrong every.single.time and it drove me nuts. Finally I commented on their FB page that somebody should fix that, and the next day - he said it right. Every time I hear it now I mentally high five myself.
I don't know The Newsroom, but I'm guessing someone from outside Boston directed them to say it wrong. We have a Lewistown in our state that everyone calls Lewiston for some reason?!
That's how I would pronounce both of those towns.
cville putting "the" in front of numbers related to freeways/highways is a hotly debated issue in CA. Hollywood is on the "the" side of the split.
There is no debate, freeways always have a "the" in front.
I don't know The Newsroom, but I'm guessing someone from outside Boston directed them to say it wrong. We have a Lewistown in our state that everyone calls Lewiston for some reason?!
That's how I would pronounce both of those towns.
cville putting "the" in front of numbers related to freeways/highways is a hotly debated issue in CA. Hollywood is on the "the" side of the split.
Hollywood is WRONG!
Also, I think the notion that this was done on purpose to make some sort of larger point about the news being inaccurate is giving Aaron Sorkin way too much credit. And I say this with love, because the West Wing is my favorite.
Well, as an east coaster who grew up watching shows set in the east refer to things like "The 95" for years, I pretty much presume everyone in Hollywood gets everything wrong about anything east of Hot Springs.
People mispronounce town names ALL THE TIME. Off the top of my head from my travels: Reading PA. (red-ing not like the thing you do with books) Lancaster PA. (it's not Lan-caster. It's closer to Lanc-astir.) Ellicott city (the cott is sorta elided. Ellic't? no idea how to type that.) North Versailles, PA (actually pronounced Ver-sales. As painful as that may be.)
I have heard in-market real life newscasters say every single one of those wrong.
And tangent - there was a traffic guy on one of our local radio stations that mispronounced the name of the company sponsoring the traffic report wrong every.single.time and it drove me nuts. Finally I commented on their FB page that somebody should fix that, and the next day - he said it right. Every time I hear it now I mentally high five myself.
An interesting one in New Jersey is Secaucus ... people from that immediate area, like me, pronounce it "SEE-caw-kus." Everyone else in the state says "Suh-KAH-kiss." Both are considered acceptable.
I ruined one of my friend's days when I told her it's pronounced redding and so is the railroad in Monopoly. I have no idea why she took it so hard that she'd been mispronouncing it all this time, but she did. She swore up and down that I was wrong.
I am going to butcher this spelling, but isn't Worchester, Mass actually pronounced "Wooster."
I don't think I would get all up in arms about the name of a MA town being mispronounced. Why is this offensive to you?
it's actually pronounced "wister" or "wooster" depending on where you come from in MA. I could totally understand a one-off mispronunciation of a town like Worcester, Woburn (woooburn) etc. But if you have the proper spelling of Watertown it is impossible to pronounce. This was also not an SNL skit or the Jimmy Kimmel with a one liner. The show was devoted to the subject, it is a fictional news show centered around the news that came out of this event. I'm not really offended because I'm actually starting to think that they were trying to make a point (the point they were making all throughout the show in fact) about how news screws up things - especially when they are trying to get ratings.
I mean this with kindness...you are over invested lol.
it's actually pronounced "wister" or "wooster" depending on where you come from in MA. I could totally understand a one-off mispronunciation of a town like Worcester, Woburn (woooburn) etc. But if you have the proper spelling of Watertown it is impossible to pronounce. This was also not an SNL skit or the Jimmy Kimmel with a one liner. The show was devoted to the subject, it is a fictional news show centered around the news that came out of this event. I'm not really offended because I'm actually starting to think that they were trying to make a point (the point they were making all throughout the show in fact) about how news screws up things - especially when they are trying to get ratings.
I mean this with kindness...you are over invested lol.
Well, as an east coaster who grew up watching shows set in the east refer to things like "The 95" for years, I pretty much presume everyone in Hollywood gets everything wrong about anything east of Hot Springs.
People mispronounce town names ALL THE TIME. Off the top of my head from my travels: Reading PA. (red-ing not like the thing you do with books) Lancaster PA. (it's not Lan-caster. It's closer to Lanc-astir.) Ellicott city (the cott is sorta elided. Ellic't? no idea how to type that.) North Versailles, PA (actually pronounced Ver-sales. As painful as that may be.)
I have heard in-market real life newscasters say every single one of those wrong.
And tangent - there was a traffic guy on one of our local radio stations that mispronounced the name of the company sponsoring the traffic report wrong every.single.time and it drove me nuts. Finally I commented on their FB page that somebody should fix that, and the next day - he said it right. Every time I hear it now I mentally high five myself.
Or this is really embarrassing - I grew up outside of Philly, in South Jersey.
I also thought Wilkes-Barre was pronounced like Wilks Bar, not wilks berry.
that is weird that they mispronounced it. I obviously don't live far from Boston but sometimes the reporters mispronounce places like Woburn and Peabody on the Providence local news.
I would assume that it was intentional that they mispronounced Watertown if it happened throughout the show but that is totally weird...I don't watch the show so I don't know enough about it.
Post by cattledogkisses on Nov 11, 2014 14:58:16 GMT -5
I don't think this is worth getting worked up about. Massachusetts in particular seems have a lot of easily/commonly mispronounced towns (Worcester, Woburn, Peabody, Leominster, Dedham, Needham, Quincy, etc. etc.).