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While this is true, it is often also the case that the people writing about certain areas are not necessarily experts in those areas. I have personal experience

While this is true, it is often also the case that the people writing about certain areas are not necessarily experts in those areas. I have personal experience with this phenomenon as I used to write for and edit a number of IT-related magazines. In that capacity I went to a lot of press meetings, conferences and other similar gatherings where I mingled with my colleagues from other publications. It was striking to notice how little knowledge many of them actually possessed about the - often deeply technical - subjects being discussed and even more striking to see that they nevertheless wrote articles full of mumbo-jumbo which got published in their outlets which' readers can be assumed to have turned to those with the intent of being informed on those subjects. Being able to write a fluent story is a skill in itself and not necessarily linked to deep knowledge about the subjects the story touches. News publications work off deadlines where it can be - no, strike that, is - most important to have something, anything to publish. Those who can reliably produce the required few paragraphs will rise higher than those who put accuracy above timeliness.

reaperducer 8y ago
it is often also the case that the people writing about certain areas are not necessarily experts in those areas. This is not a secret. It's basic journalism. Beat reporting hasn't been common since the 1970's. Almost all journalists are expected to be generalists. Today it's a car crash. Tomorrow it's a labor strike. It's the nature of the business. Daily news isn't for in-depth research. That's what books, documentaries, and other slow media is for. The daily news is for reporting the news of the day.
- Yetanfou 8y ago
  > Daily news isn't for in-depth research. That's what books, documentaries, and other slow media is for. The daily news is for reporting the news of the day. ...but what about weekly and monthly news? That was the publishing frequency for most of the publications in this area. Those were the magazines those people wrote for, often not hindered by any deep knowledge about the subject matter but gifted with a quick pen - not to mention the advertising department which wanted to keep their clients happy.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    It depends on the publication and the geography. It's hard to detail the operations of the entire media industry in a HN comment.

reaperducer 8y ago

it is often also the case that the people writing about certain areas are not necessarily experts in those areas. This is not a secret. It's basic journalism. Beat reporting hasn't been common since the 1970's. Almost all journalists are expected to be generalists. Today it's a car crash. Tomorrow it's a labor strike. It's the nature of the business. Daily news isn't for in-depth research. That's what books, documentaries, and other slow media is for. The daily news is for reporting the news of the day.

Yetanfou 8y ago
> Daily news isn't for in-depth research. That's what books, documentaries, and other slow media is for. The daily news is for reporting the news of the day. ...but what about weekly and monthly news? That was the publishing frequency for most of the publications in this area. Those were the magazines those people wrote for, often not hindered by any deep knowledge about the subject matter but gifted with a quick pen - not to mention the advertising department which wanted to keep their clients happy.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  It depends on the publication and the geography. It's hard to detail the operations of the entire media industry in a HN comment.