Why are journalists so lazy

[dsc]

and more importantly why do we let them get by with it? One common thread in most of the attack threads on this forum is that they usually have an article that is very poorly written and or unsourced as its basis. It seems to not matter if the jornalist is a leftist (Truthout, Commondreams, and Fair all have been quoted in these threads), center (TNR has been quoted in these), right wing (Newsmax, NR Online, etc), or supposed mainstream (NYT, WP, etc). It simply astounds me how often these publications publish things with little to no sourcing, out right lies, 'quotes' of five words or less, and other ridiculous things. To site one example on P and C. There is a thread that quotes TNR as saying that Dean said at a rally that he would repeal only some of the Bush tax cuts. Yet the reporter gives no link to the report and gives no location for the rally. Since AP is his source the state is crucial. You can't look up things on AP's site if you don't know the state. Surely TNR knows this. Yet they were too damn lazy to link their source, or at least give a state so that others could find it. Imagine if math teachers behaved this way. Our kids would think 2-2=1 and we would be too lazy to tell them the page of the book showing that 2-2=0. It is pathetic.

[Punkingal]

1. Most of them aren't journalists......

just pretty faces with good Q ratings on television. I admit to being puzzled about the print media. I always thought it was very important for them to be thorough.

[dsc]

3. The overwhelming majority of what is quoted here

is from print media. And, like you, I am mystified at how they keep their jobs.

[MrPrax]

2. Scrutiny on the fifth estate...

coz they dissed your candidate...
and nothing else disturbs you about the state of journalism???

Get new bookmarks

LOL

[dsc]

4. I could have easily used things posted about Clark as an example

for example the thread on Clark that featured an article by common dreams. BTW it is nice to see that journalists aren't the only lazy people clearly you were to lazy to read my whole post which was maybe 100 words.

BTW assuming you aren't to lazy the clark thread is in GD and is entitled "Opposition research on Clark"

[izzie]

5. Well they are like us, and some are and some are not.

More important is where can the work go into print.Every job has rules and if you wish to be paid you have to go with them.

[lanlady]

6. The media is just another institution--

--that is being ruined by the almighty $$$dollar$$$, like baseball and representative government.

[Don_G]

7. The Print Media Is Lazy

If they can get a press release and don't have to rearrange the facts too much, they will write it up as theirs and pass it off. Not all, but most.

The broadcast media are so controlled by their master corporations that they have little choice but to rag out any Dem that may be a threat to the bottom line.

That's why I prefer the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp to anything in our country. Both are fair and balanced and I'd like to see Faux try to sue them for objectivity.

[BiggJawn]

8. See my thread about the CNN Kennedy article...

It's prolly on page 24 now, I posted it yesterday and didn't put the words "Dean" or "Clark" in it....

CNN quoted an "Annonymous Republican Official" as saying Dems are "weak" on defense, and Shrub is Strong, Strong STRONG!

What Pap! They used to call that "uncorraborated information" and it usually wound up under a coat of White-Out or waddedup in the wastebasket

For all we know, they went and showed the Drew Carey look-alike who works in the mailroom the story and asked for his take on it.

Sloppy,sloppy,sloppy...

"We all know that Crap is KING, give us Dirty Laundry!"

[Jacobin]

9. Until about 20 years ago, the media was considered to be

"the watch dog of government". It was their sworn duty to question government and look for lies, fraud, corruption, stupid policies, etc.

When the conglomerates bought the media, the media became part of the corporatists who purchase Congress and run the country. The watch dogs were no longer rewarded for "watching". They became lap dogs, because that is where they got their "attaboys" and christmas bonuses.

This has morphed into the general feeling that it is "unpatriotic" to question your government (if a republican is in office) and that "liberals" are all failed yesterday's idea tree huggers. Say that a couple of times on the air and in print and your pension plan just got doubled.

They are whores, pure and simple. They are beyond redemption. They should all face the guillotine. They have sold out our country for dollar bills.

[uptohere]

10. lousy pay for the most part

all the money goes to the very top, doesn't leave much for the rest. One might start off motivated but it doesn't last long once they see that journalism is not the point of media.

Someone said that the print media were lazy, consider that all the TV media do is read the AP wire. Locally they read it verbatum. Thats lazy. At least give the print guys credit for spending time in front of their keyboards.

And if you have a problem with the quality of writting, blame the universities. Thats where they learned it. Kinda like Jayson Blair !