Apparently this "reporter" missed the part of that definition partaining to written language. Am I being pedantic?
Yes, you are. That part of the definition is (with good reason) missing in the better dictionaries (i.e. Webster's Third New International Dictionary and the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary). Any linguist knows that spoken/written and informal/formal are independent dimensions of language use; there is both formal spoken language and informal written language, and the latter is characteristic for modern popular journalism.informal Informal is often used even overused by usage writers, handbook writers, and dictionaries as a replacement for the much misunderstood label colloquial. It is of vague application; beyond the fact that it represents a different part of the usage spectrum from formal, its meaning is rather elusive. Here are two attempts to pin it down:
formal Formal is a term used in a great many usage books to distinguish that kind of writing and speech that is most mannered and remote from ordinary conversational English. In spite of its wide use, it presents problems as a label, because there is a good deal of uncertainty about just what formal is meant to cover. Two responsible commentators can use the term differently. Bryant 1962, for example, includes among formal sources many of the same sources Perrin & Ebbitt 1972 consider general.
When formal is used in this book, it is used only as a vague indicator of general tendency and not as the marker of a class of writings with uniform characteristics. We would suggest that you take prescriptions of "not used in formal English" or "unacceptable in formal English" with a considerable grain of salt. Perhaps Bishop Lowth's "elevated style" would have been a more generally useful label.
(Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage)
Informal style is marked by relatively short loose sentences, the use of simile rather than metaphor, casual rhythms and stresses &mdash Barnard 1979
Informal English is the spoken language of cultured people and the language sued in writing when casual or familiar expression is desired Janis 1984When we have used it in this book, we have used it much as others have simply in contrast to formal (which see).
formal Formal is a term used in a great many usage books to distinguish that kind of writing and speech that is most mannered and remote from ordinary conversational English. In spite of its wide use, it presents problems as a label, because there is a good deal of uncertainty about just what formal is meant to cover. Two responsible commentators can use the term differently. Bryant 1962, for example, includes among formal sources many of the same sources Perrin & Ebbitt 1972 consider general.
When formal is used in this book, it is used only as a vague indicator of general tendency and not as the marker of a class of writings with uniform characteristics. We would suggest that you take prescriptions of "not used in formal English" or "unacceptable in formal English" with a considerable grain of salt. Perhaps Bishop Lowth's "elevated style" would have been a more generally useful label.
(Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage)
Surf safe;)
NFiH