ObamaVision, a word used by the media to embody President Barack Obama’s promise to bring hope and change to America, has been named as the most “influential” English word used on television in 2009.
ObamaVision came into existence during the 2008 presidential campaign. It even beat out popular terms like “financial meltdown” in the sixth annual Top 10 Telewords list created by U.S. tracking group, the Global Language Monitor.
“Michael Jackson” whose death back in June led to days of non-stop media coverage, and “Susan Boyle”, the frumpy British singer who captivated America after her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, came third and fourth place, respectively.
The Texas-based Global Language Monitor utilizes a proprietary formula to scour printed and electronic media as well as the internet for trends in word usage.
It issues its Top 1O Telewords at the official beginning of the U.S. television season in late September.
For the first time, the 2009 list named a website, listing Hulu.com in 5th place.
The Top 10 Telewords of 2009 are:
1) ObamaVision
2) Financial Meltdown
3) Michael Jackson
4) Susan Boyle
5) Hulu.com
6) Vampires
7) Dar Dour (The Iraqi TV show spoof)
Wizards
9) “And that’s the way it is,” (the signoff of late U.S. news anchor Walter Cronkite)
10) Jiggle
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