Journalese of the Day: Little-known

When a story reports that something is “little-known” chances are that reporters and editors missed the story a long time ago. (“Those lazy flacks never sent out a press release,” they complain privately.) A beautiful illustration is in a Boston Globe, page one, story, Aug. 11, 2016, with the headline: “Little-known dual roles for city official — Development aide also a real estate partner.” Making this especially illustrious is that facts of this story have been “little-known” since 1998. Here are the first grafs of the story:

“In the Roxbury real estate community, Carl Hyman is described as a likable and helpful figure who has helped guide improvements in the neighborhood through his longtime position as a senior property manager in City Hall’s Department of Neighborhood Development.

“Few know this: Since 1998, Hyman and a former city employee have led a real estate firm named Melbourne Street Partners, which has bought, developed, and sold properties near such hot spots as Highland Park and Dudley Square — areas Hyman’s agency helped nurture.

“In 2000, the city agency also awarded the former city employee, architect Harold Raymond, about 100,000 square feet in discounted Roxbury public property. Hyman, who oversees unused city property as part of his job, never disclosed that Raymond was his business partner.”

Right. Few knew this. Especially Globe reporters supposedly “covering” city hall

-Robert Skole

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *