Media screws up again...

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message

That's somewhat naive.

No, it isn't.

Okay. I'm sure you know all about it. I studied under a two-time Pulizer
winner, earned a degree in journalism, won national awards for my stories
and edited and managed a magazine.

I'm sure your credentials are staggering. There are also people who ride
on airliners who think they can fly better than the pilot every time they
hit turbulence. Keep jamming on that Flight Attendant Call button and
pestering the crew and maybe the turbulence will stop.

-c

"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

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message

That is inaccurate, not to mention impossible.

Actually, it is both accurate and possible.

I'm sure you know all about it because you read newspapers and watch TV news
and stuff, and it makes you an expert.

By that logic, being a passenger on airlines makes passengers know more
about the aviation industry than pilots.

-c

"gatt" wrote in message
...

Okay. I'm sure you know all about it.


You're right.



I studied under a two-time Pulizer
winner, earned a degree in journalism, won national awards for my stories
and edited and managed a magazine.


Biased journalists regularly receive journalism awards.

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message

It's in a standard dictionary, and no more technical than the definition
immediately preceding it, "the sudden, unintended loss of power or
effectiveness in an engine." Perhaps the problem is the rather limited
vocabulary of most journalists?

Most pilots suck too. I mean, explain turbulence. I done flew lots of
times on them big 707s and whatnot. It's all, you know, bounce bounce
bounce. I mean, Jethro, I ain't no pilot or nothin' but, dang, how come
them airplanes is always a-crashin' and whatnot?

Why, *I* could fly the dern plane better than that. I just don't want to is
all.

-c

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message

Ummm...and their market share has been doing...what lately?

Ummm...crashing.

We live in a society in which more young adults voted for the next American
Idol than the last president. And, gee...why might the news media market
share crashing?

'Cause everybody who watches the news already knows everything, probably.

=c

"gatt" wrote in message
...

I'm sure you know all about it because you read newspapers and
watch TV news and stuff, and it makes you an expert.


No, I know all about it because I seek out more reliable sources of
information.



By that logic, being a passenger on airlines makes passengers know more
about the aviation industry than pilots.


Bad analogy.

"gatt" wrote in message
...

Most pilots suck too.


Perhaps, but most pilots don't fly for a living. Professional pilots as a
group are far better at their craft than professional journalists are at
theirs.

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.