"Obviously...blah blah....blah blah."

I always treated 'obviously' like 'um' and 'like.' Axed it.

 

I always seem to say, "It seems like," when leading into a question. Can't say I've ever said, "Obviously."

 

there's a huge difference between print and tv reporters. it's almost a good thing for print reporters to seem uncertain, or as if they are grasping for a concept they can't quite comprehend. cirlce around the question a bit, paint a broad picture, but let interview subject be the voice of authority or clarify what you're trying to get at. it's the best way to get solid, must-use quotes.

but the tv guys... they aren't just reporting, they are part of a performance and should execute their reporting and interviews as such.

 

Good post but I see it a little simpler. Couldn't it just be an acknowledgement of the listener's understanding, wanting to make a point to casual fans but at the same time not wanting to insult the "heavy user" type who has studied the effects of the team's draft and is beginning to scout the following season's recruiting class?

 

maybe...and perhaps... but casual fans don't typically tune in by themselves. if they're watching a game or event, it's probably because they are watching it with more serious viewers and fans of the sport. so if i am a more serious fan, i don't want the analysts appealing to say, my grandmother who doesn't know the infield fly rule. i'd much rather explain that to her myself and learn something new from the "experts."

part of the problem, too, is that some guys in the booth just don't know when to shut up (a la theisman). it's just talking for the sake of talking, so the good stuff sometimes gets missed.

 

You're not the only one. I'm considering shock therapy to strip the word from my vocabulary.

 

I'm with leather Flash.

I treat obviously like "ahem," "you know", "like" and all the other extraneous words and phrases that should be edited out of copy.

Unless there is a good reason for obviously to stay in there.

But there rarely is.