4 ms·

Remember that newspapers have to write at a ~2nd grade level because the general public is stupid.

aestra 13y ago
Any evidence newspapers write at a second grade level? I seriously doubt this. That being said, there is an effort in politics to "dumb down" speeches in the last few years to reach a bigger audience. They still speak at high school level though. http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/01/state-of-the-union-registers-at-th-grade-reading-level-112236.html http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/01/state-of-the-unio... >Obama's use of simple language is in part a reflection of his audience: the American voter in an election year. And it's part of a larger trend in simpler State of the Union language as the speech as transitioned from a simple address to Congress into a prime-time televised event. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/21/study-congressional-speaking-levels-move-back-a-grade/ http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/21/study-congre... >A new study by the Sunlight Foundation found that Congress speaks at an average grade level of 10.6, equivalent to a sophomore in high school. That number is down from 2005, when Congress' 11.5 speaking level was in line with a high school junior. >"We do it on purpose," Mulvaney said of himself and his other freshman Republicans. "People have been teaching this for decades. If you want someone to understand your message, you speak clearly and concisely." EDIT: I went to the New York Times homepage and picked the first article I saw. It was this: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/world/europe/ukraine.html?hp&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/world/europe/ukraine.html?... I than ran it though a readability score analysis: https://readability-score.com/ https://readability-score.com/ It was written about at an 11th grade level.
- Dirlewanger 13y ago
  I'm spouting a factoid heard long ago, maybe it's a 5th or 6th grade, I don't know. Regardless, it's not at a college level. Besides, you're quoting stuff about Congress/State of the Union, not newspapers. Similar audiences, but different things with different goals.
  - nakedrobot2 13y ago
    I've heard this so many times. With this logic, Ernest Hemingway writes at a 2nd grade level.
    - Dirlewanger 13y ago
      Yeah, sure, that's true. Doesn't mean it's wrong when talking about newspapers. They're different bodies of work. Journalists generally aren't writing narratives laden with literary themes.
hawkharris 13y ago
There's a big difference between using simple, succinct language and dumbing down your writing. Good newspapers do the former.

Any evidence newspapers write at a second grade level? I seriously doubt this. That being said, there is an effort in politics to "dumb down" speeches in the last few years to reach a bigger audience. They still speak at high school level though. http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/01/state-of-the-union-registers-at-th-grade-reading-level-112236.html http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/01/state-of-the-unio... >Obama's use of simple language is in part a reflection of his audience: the American voter in an election year. And it's part of a larger trend in simpler State of the Union language as the speech as transitioned from a simple address to Congress into a prime-time televised event. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/21/study-congressional-speaking-levels-move-back-a-grade/ http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/21/study-congre... >A new study by the Sunlight Foundation found that Congress speaks at an average grade level of 10.6, equivalent to a sophomore in high school. That number is down from 2005, when Congress' 11.5 speaking level was in line with a high school junior. >"We do it on purpose," Mulvaney said of himself and his other freshman Republicans. "People have been teaching this for decades. If you want someone to understand your message, you speak clearly and concisely." EDIT: I went to the New York Times homepage and picked the first article I saw. It was this: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/world/europe/ukraine.html?hp&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/world/europe/ukraine.html?... I than ran it though a readability score analysis: https://readability-score.com/ https://readability-score.com/ It was written about at an 11th grade level.

Dirlewanger 13y ago
I'm spouting a factoid heard long ago, maybe it's a 5th or 6th grade, I don't know. Regardless, it's not at a college level. Besides, you're quoting stuff about Congress/State of the Union, not newspapers. Similar audiences, but different things with different goals.
- nakedrobot2 13y ago
  I've heard this so many times. With this logic, Ernest Hemingway writes at a 2nd grade level.
  - Dirlewanger 13y ago
    Yeah, sure, that's true. Doesn't mean it's wrong when talking about newspapers. They're different bodies of work. Journalists generally aren't writing narratives laden with literary themes.

hawkharris 13y ago

There's a big difference between using simple, succinct language and dumbing down your writing. Good newspapers do the former.