The idea of journalese was difficult for me to wrap my mind around. Zinnser describes it as "a quilt of instant words patched together out of other parts of speech." The easiest description for me to understand was to think of it as "a mixture of cheap words, made-up words, and cliches that have become so persuasive that a writer can hardly help using them."
Journalese is most commonly seen in popular news media. One of the top gossip sights is TMZ. After looking through a couple of their top stories I think I was able to come up with some examples of journalese.
The first article is about an incident with singer Chris Brown. After the controversial release if his new song with Rihanna, media outlets are watching his every move. This short article puts him in the spotlight for stealing a phone. The article is very direct and hows his in a negative light. It simply ends with the case is under criminal investigation".
Examples:
"asked squarely for the first time"
"Brown ... was mum on the subject"
"freelance photog had some choice words"
"moments before the alleged phone jacking"
Another article highlights the show "Dancing with the Stars". It was people to get excited for the new season and the dramatic lives of possible contestants.
Examples:
"celeb contestants revealed"
"Jack and Heather got into an epic fight"
"upcoming season ... which kicks off next month"
"that deal fell through"
http://www.tmz.com/
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