rip-and-reader

rip-and-reader

English

Etymology

Suggesting the tearing off and reading of printed sheets from incoming news transmissions.

Noun

rip-and-reader (plural rip-and-readers)

1. (broadcasting, slang, derogatory) A newsreader or station that delivers the news in a formulaic, uninspired manner.
   • 1977, Ronald G. Hicks, A Survey of Mass Communication (page 145)

     In between the all-news stations and the rip-and-readers are a substantial number of stations which sometimes have one or two newsmen and which try to do a respectable job with a limited budget.

   • 1987, Presstime (volume 9, issues 1-6, page 15)

     Leave the rip-and-readers to the tender mercies of the Associated Press. Major market radio and television stations are another matter entirely. Their news interests and requirements are similar to those of newspapers.

   • 2012, Bradley Schultz, Sports Media: Reporting, Producing, and Planning (page 254)

     News director Griff Potter says he wants “a journalist, not a rip-and-reader. Someone who understands that highlights, runs, and errors are boring television.”