Dr. Arnold

A self-proclaimed grammarholic said, Tuesday, grammar use is extremely important in news writing but also in everyday life. He even joked that the dog is not going to “lay” down until it is said correctly.
Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications of 35 years, George T. Arnold said he hates jargon, slang, clichés, euphemisms and grammatical errors in writing. Arnold said, “I hate when people say ‘what was your name again?’ It’s George T. Arnold and it always has been.”
Arnold visited Marshall University to speak to a news writing class, and 15 people attended. He is known for his published book “The Media Writer’s Handbook.” The first edition was published in 1995. The sixth edition of this book will be out this year. “I realized that grammar and common mistakes were a problem for my students, and there was not a book, so I wrote the book for JMC 100,” said Arnold.
Arnold said using language that everyone will understand is important. “When you have not communicated people don’t understand what you are talking about,” said Arnold. He also said that redundancies and wordiness will be a constant struggle for writers.
Arnold attended Beckley College, Marshall University, and Ohio University. He has spent over 10 years in the professional journalism world, and started teaching at Marshall University in 1968. “I used to teach at this round table,” said Arnold.
In the new edition Arnold has added sections of Confessions of a Grammerholic, Jargon and Slang, I Don’t Want to Sound like a Vice President, Clichés and Redundancies and Euphemisms. Arnold said “when I got an email from my dentist after I had surgery telling me ‘I was pleased,’ I thought ‘what did I do to upset him?’” It’s the grammarholic in Arnold that keeps him publishing the book, and constantly adding and changing sections. Arnold said “find a new direction for yourself.”