Bastardization of words

I've got one: New record. Ugh!
It's either a record or it's not, it's not new, it's not old, it's just a record.

Joe Schmo scored his school-record fifth TD on a 20-yard run late in the fourth quarter, breaking Jack Fast's mark that had stood for 11 years.

My college sports writing instructor drilled that "new" record one into our heads.

Oh, and one more, when the TV interviewer makes a statement (not a question, just a statement), then sticks the mic under the nose of the interviewee and said athlete/coach begins with "I mean ..."

Grating on so many levels; the dipshit TV guy for not really asking a question, and the athlete, for simply going into drone mode.

 

The head of athleticS at a high school or university as an athletics director, not "athletic" director.

He is a director of the athletics program, not a director with a 45-inch vertical leap. Another one that has fallen on deaf ears at my shop and I've given up.

 

That one depends on the school. Some have athletic directors, some have athletics directors. I figure you gotta go by their title.

 

I had a journalism professor who despised the word "hopefully" because of the original meaning, which is "in a hopeful manner," though it's hardly used that way anymore.

"Hopefully" is meant to be used like this: Steve looked at the sky hopefully, praying that the black clouds would bring rain.

NOT

"Hopefully we'll win Saturday."

The second is accepted as proper now, though it wasn't originally.

The misuse of "prolific" bothers me as well.

 

Ironically, wouldn't "bastardization" be a bastardization of the word "bastard," which didn't originally mean to change the connotation and meanings of words, I'm pretty sure.