SJC-style-and-production-guide-2012

journalism is independence, rather than group behaviour, to seek out unknown intelligence andtell audiences what they don’t know.exhaustive Comprehensive, thorough, using everything up; not exhausting.exotic Means foreign and, from elsewhere.extract/extrude are often confused. The first means to draw out by force (see ‘exact’ above).The second means to squeeze out, expel a plastic or metal moulding. ‘The pipe was extrudedand was therefore seamless’.eyewitness don’t use. It’s TV hype. Use witness. A witness can be assumed to have seen anevent, but even if the event has only been heard, use ‘witness’, not ‘earwitness’.expatriate (n) not expatriot. ‘Expat’ is acceptable.Ffacility is often used redundantly. (See also ‘that’ and ‘of ’). ‘This is a toilet’ , not a ‘toiletfacility’.faze when you mean ruffled. ‘He wasn’t fazed by the woman’s aggression.’ The spelling is notphase.feat and fete are sometimes confused. A feat is an achievement, whereas a fete is a carnival heldby schools and churches to raise funds. ‘Traversing the Kakoda track in a wheel chair is anextraordinary feat’.federal when referring to Australian central government within Australia. Otherwise use theAustralian Government when writing in an international context. Australia is a federationof states; that is the system of government. Historically it has been part of the BritishCommonwealth. Politicians often use the term Commonwealth Government, but they arereferring to an anachronism.fewer/less Use ‘fewer’ when referring to numbers and ‘less’ when referring to quantity:‘Australia has fewer people than Indonesia and produces less oil.’ Use ‘more than’ whenreferring to number and quantity, rather than ‘over’ or ‘in excess of’.flammable is likely or able to burn. Not flammable means something will not burn.Inflammable often also used, but more suited to describing a personality, rather than physicalobjects. ‘He was inflamed by the suggestion…’flair and flare are often confused. Flair is a person’s particular talent or gift in anything fromdance to philately. A flare is a very bright light, usually coloured, fired into the sky by boats atsea to indicate distress or used by military personnel for visibility after dark.flatmate and flat mate are often confused. A flatemate is somebody who shares your flat.Whereas a flat mate is a sad friend.flaunt To wave proudly or to show off. It has a totally different meaning from that of ‘flout’.flout To express contempt for something. It comes from the German word for ‘whistle’ (cf‘flute’), a way of expressing derision.flue and flu are often confused. The first is a chimney pipe; the second is a seasonal disease.fluorescent not flouresent.PAGE 39 – 2012UQ SJC STYLEBOOK