The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style : A ...

4 acronym
for example, they mean he is not definitely
a thief, just one who has been accused
of being a thief. But to call
someone an “accused thief” is still calling
him a thief. “Accused” modifies
“thief”; it does not mollify it. Similarly
an “accused doctor” or “accused
lawyer” is a doctor or lawyer who has
been accused.
The misuse of alleged, as a synonym
for “accused” in its objectionable sense,
has long been established among journalists.
An example: “Dazed and bleeding
from a vicious assault . . . Laurie
M—— pleaded with alleged attacker
David A—— to take her to a hospital.
. . .” Alleged normally means declared
as such without proof. But the
sentence essentially says the accused man
committed the crime; “alleged” scarcely
mitigates the nastiness joined to his
name. A fairer phrasing would be:
“. . . Laurie . . . pleaded with her attacker—alleged
to be David . . . —to
take. . . .”
Suspected is apt to be treated in the
manner of the other two questionable
words. The comments about accused
hold for suspected. A “suspected assailant”
is an assailant who is suspected,
according to the literal meaning of the
words. In stating that “serious damage
has been done to national security by
convicted or suspected spies,” two newspaper
by-liners show that they regard
“suspected spies” the same as convicted
spies. (See Guilt and innocence, 3.)
The word reported often is used in a
similar grammatical way. Although usually
applied to incidents, rather than
people, its presence can raise questions.
For instance, when a news story mentions
a “reported crime,” is it referring
to a crime that has been reported to the
police, or is it just using “reported” in its
vague, journalistic sense, as a supposed
hedge against legal action, or as if to say:
“We’re not sure that it happened, but we
were told that it did”?
Writers and editors should be aware
that none of the four words in question
will protect them against suit. It is not
enough to say “There really was an accusation”—or
“allegation” or “report”
or “suspicion”—if its substance was
false or erroneous. As a rule of thumb,
avoid charged prose if there is no
charged defendant.
2. Two adverbs
Allegedly and reportedly (a later arrival)
occupy the domain of the news
media, and there they should be confined.
They are used in this way: “The
accused man allegedly [or “reportedly”]
struck the victim.” In grammatical
terms, the selected adverb modifies the
verb, struck. Someone ought to explain
in what manner the accused person
struck the other when he “allegedly”
struck him or “reportedly” struck him.
During our Persian Gulf war, a banner
in an American newspaper cried: “Hussein
reportedly asks for asylum in Algeria”
(referring to President Hussein of
Iraq). The “report” came from a French
newspaper, which cited no source. No
more was heard of it. We need not ponder
the unimaginable act of “reportedly
asking”; a larger question is involved:
When an editor finds a story so shaky
that he must qualify its headline with
“reportedly,” should he not think twice
before running it at all?
ACRONYM. See Abbreviation.
ACROPHOBIA. See HOMOPHO-
BIA.
“ACROSS FROM.” These two sentences,
which appeared in newspapers in
Texas and New York, raise questions:
“The farm is across from the plant.” /
“. . . This man’s brother was across from
the President’s house with a gun. . . .”
Across what? The tracks? The street?
The park? Use of the slang term “across