Media screws up again...

"Jack" wrote in message news:Muayc.7230

Would a real-life journalist know the difference between "targeted" and
"targetted", or how to use a spell-checker?

Sorry. I don't use spell checkers for usenet.

All we ask from our reporters is a high school level of understanding of
the
world around them, which is easily achieved before the story exists and
has
nothing to do with deadline pressures.

Wow. Did they teach you the difference between aerodynamic and mechanical
stall in high school?

-c

gatt wrote:

Did they teach you the difference between aerodynamic
and mechanical stall in high school?

They taught me to write about what I know.



Jack

"Jack" wrote in message news:

gatt wrote:

Did they teach you the difference between aerodynamic
and mechanical stall in high school?

They taught me to write about what I know.

Did you take any coursework in Journalism, then, or did their teaching fail
you? How do you "know" how the media works?

=-c

I can't tell who said what in this thread, but my comments are directed at
whoever wrote: "They taught me to write about what I know".

May I suggest that you probably have a very good case for a tuition refund?
"Write about what you know" is the mantra of creative writing courses, not
J-school.

Think of everyone you know, and what their job is. There is no way a
journalist, or anyone else, can be an expert in all of those fields.

Your beeper goes off at 3:00 AM, drive 50 miles into the middle of nowhere,
and there's your story. You don't have the slightest idea what you are
looking at, and there are no experts around to explain it. And what does a
real journalist do? He/she looks at the camera and says:

"I am standing in front of a vast crater, approximately one mile across. I
cannot determine how deep it is, some type of smoke is wafting up from the
bottom. The crater is surrounded by large, unidentifiable, torn and broken
pieces of metal, each about four to five feet long and two or three feet
thick."

That's how the pros do it. You don't need to know anything about it to
report it, as long as you stick to what you observe with your senses. If you
know something about the story, put that information in, but only what you
actually know. And keep your BS detector on high; possessing a uniform
doesn't make someone an expert, neither does possessing a degree.



"gatt" wrote in message
...

"Jack" wrote in message news:

gatt wrote:

Did they teach you the difference between aerodynamic
and mechanical stall in high school?

They taught me to write about what I know.

Did you take any coursework in Journalism, then, or did their teaching
fail
you? How do you "know" how the media works?

=-c

"Bill Denton" wrote in message
...

Think of everyone you know, and what their job is. There is no way a
journalist, or anyone else, can be an expert in all of those fields.

Your beeper goes off at 3:00 AM, drive 50 miles into the middle of
nowhere,
and there's your story. You don't have the slightest idea what you are
looking at, and there are no experts around to explain it. And what does a
real journalist do? He/she looks at the camera and says:

"I am standing in front of a vast crater, approximately one mile across. I
cannot determine how deep it is, some type of smoke is wafting up from the
bottom. The crater is surrounded by large, unidentifiable, torn and broken
pieces of metal, each about four to five feet long and two or three feet
thick."

That's how the pros do it. You don't need to know anything about it to
report it, as long as you stick to what you observe with your senses. If
you
know something about the story, put that information in, but only what you
actually know. And keep your BS detector on high; possessing a uniform
doesn't make someone an expert, neither does possessing a degree.


Exactly. A good journalist stands in place of your eyes and ears and
describes the scene or event, unemotionally, because you can't be there.
But good journalism doesn't sell newspapers or win awards.

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message

Exactly. A good journalist stands in place of your eyes and ears and
describes the scene or event, unemotionally, because you can't be there.

....and has to deal with clueless flaks who know jack squat about what
journalists have to do in order to get that information, and even if they do
report well, be assured there are plenty of know-it-alls out there to
correct them and trash talk them anyway.

But good journalism doesn't sell newspapers or win awards.

Sure thing, Professor.

-c

"gatt" wrote in message
...

...and has to deal with clueless flaks who know jack squat about what
journalists have to do in order to get that information, and even if they
do
report well, be assured there are plenty of know-it-alls out there to
correct them and trash talk them anyway.


You just don't get it.

"Bill Denton" wrote in message news:40ce12e4$0$3044

"I am standing in front of a vast crater, approximately one mile across. I
cannot determine how deep it is, some type of smoke is wafting up from the
bottom. The crater is surrounded by large, unidentifiable, torn and broken
pieces of metal, each about four to five feet long and two or three feet
thick."

That is solid reporting. Now, if locals tell you they saw lights in the sky
and little green men running around, as they're prone to do in these kinds
of stories, it gets a little more complicated.

-c

"gatt" wrote in message
...

"Bill Denton" wrote in message
news:40ce12e4$0$3044

"I am standing in front of a vast crater, approximately one mile across.
I
cannot determine how deep it is, some type of smoke is wafting up from
the
bottom. The crater is surrounded by large, unidentifiable, torn and
broken
pieces of metal, each about four to five feet long and two or three feet
thick."

That is solid reporting.

Unfortunately that type of reporting is for all practical purposes extinct.

"Dave Stadt" wrote in message news:dXpzc.54

That is solid reporting.

Unfortunately that type of reporting is for all practical purposes
extinct.

That's an opinion from somebody on the internet. Do you have supporting
data?

-c