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I'll admit I don't have any deep first-person familiarity with major political events. It's possible they're right about those things. Maybe my point doesn't ge

by smeej 3y ago

I'll admit I don't have any deep first-person familiarity with major political events. It's possible they're right about those things. Maybe my point doesn't generalize. But I do have deep familiarity with other topics that are of similar impact and complexity, and the gaping holes in the writers' understanding of the topics in the articles on these topics are so gigantic you could drive trucks through them. I'm not talking about nuanced issues. These are big-picture mistakes. It's certainly possible that they're only wrong about the topics I understand. Maybe they really are right about everything else. It just seems extremely unlikely.

DoughnutHole 3y ago
What are the topics that you are a knowledgable of that major outlets get wrong all the time? It would make make sense that reporters get political news right more than more niche topics - that’s most of what they report on, it’s most of what they read, and something politically adjacent is probably the most common major for a journalist besides journalism itself. Anything else and the reporter is likely straying a bit out of their wheelhouse. Eg if they’re reporting on a scientific discovery they go to one of a handful of their reporters with scientific backgrounds, who may not have studied the specific field in question, and gets reviewed by even more removed editors. Compare that to political news where everyone in the chain is very much family with the broad subject matter.
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  > It would make make sense that reporters get political news right more than more niche topics - that’s most of what they report on Except for specifically political reporters, no, its mostly not. OTOH, for TV, network anchors seem to generally have spent some time on a political beat. > it’s most of what they read, Where do you get this? > and something politically adjacent is probably the most common major for a journalist besides journalism itself. In the US, ISTR that the top 3 majors for journalists, and the only ones above a 10% share, are, in order, Journalism, Communication, and English. Even if Poli Sci is next after that (and I think it is), its a really small share of reporters. Years of experience crafting he-said/she-said dueling press statements from politicians and other government officials and interested lobbying groups into narratives doesn't equate to understanding of politics or government.

by smeej 3y ago

DoughnutHole 3y ago

What are the topics that you are a knowledgable of that major outlets get wrong all the time? It would make make sense that reporters get political news right more than more niche topics - that’s most of what they report on, it’s most of what they read, and something politically adjacent is probably the most common major for a journalist besides journalism itself. Anything else and the reporter is likely straying a bit out of their wheelhouse. Eg if they’re reporting on a scientific discovery they go to one of a handful of their reporters with scientific backgrounds, who may not have studied the specific field in question, and gets reviewed by even more removed editors. Compare that to political news where everyone in the chain is very much family with the broad subject matter.

dragonwriter 3y ago
> It would make make sense that reporters get political news right more than more niche topics - that’s most of what they report on Except for specifically political reporters, no, its mostly not. OTOH, for TV, network anchors seem to generally have spent some time on a political beat. > it’s most of what they read, Where do you get this? > and something politically adjacent is probably the most common major for a journalist besides journalism itself. In the US, ISTR that the top 3 majors for journalists, and the only ones above a 10% share, are, in order, Journalism, Communication, and English. Even if Poli Sci is next after that (and I think it is), its a really small share of reporters. Years of experience crafting he-said/she-said dueling press statements from politicians and other government officials and interested lobbying groups into narratives doesn't equate to understanding of politics or government.