Journalism 101

I think I've figured it out folks! Two different things in the last couple of days have brought it all together for me. What am I talking about? Why the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy of today's journalists in the mainstream media.

First via Blackfive we have the most excellent Jason van Steenwyck catching a bunch of the major print media making exactly the same mistakes when reporting on a press conference.

Essentially, it looks like they're quoting each other, or some apocryphal Q source material. They're not quoting General Mattis. They didn't even show up at the press conference, and they didn't bother to get a transcript or listen to the tape. But all these reporters are passing their crap off as if they were right from the source material.

Then today as I was running a few errands I tuned into Rush who was talking about a coordinated effort by the press

...This is what I had seen Sunday night. I forget, USA Today, AP, New York Times. Three different publications. One story was, "Republicans May Lose House." Another story, "Republicans May Lose Senate." Another story was, "Democrats All excited, Kerry Has it in Bag," and I'm looking. These are stories Sunday night for Monday publication. Even when I'm away I'm working for you, ladies and gentlemen.

So I'm looking at this and I'm saying, "This is a coordinated media attack. Just last week the Democrats are trying to find somebody to replace Kerry. In less than seven days, they're now going to win the White House and they're going to win the House and they're going to win the Senate?" Come on, folks! There's nothing out there that indicates that, and it certainly, if it is effervescing out there, it hasn't shown up inside a week. You don't go... I mean, how many weeks has it been that the Democrats have been admitting that they are in panic over Kerry?...

Now for good reason you could have some questions regarding the legitimacy behind the stories we have been seeing. Yes, the Pew research poll recently showed very clearly that much of the media is liberal leaning. And yes there is certainly a clear agenda with most of those in the mainstream press. But I think we are giving them way too much credit.

Here's MY theory about what's going on with all of these news stories... Now don't tell anyone, but... There is really only one writer, everyone else is simply copying his story.

First we have the one person who is a fairly good creative writer, not good at research mind you, but can knock out a pretty good story in purely modern journalistic style. He's the guy who got "A's" in writing back in college because the prof thought it was more important that the story draw people in than be factual. (or the stories he wrote were so in tune with the way the prof was thinking - no checking on the facts was ever done and the dearth of facts was never noticed)

Then you have the rest of the saps who made it through journalism school by copying the work of someone else. Oh yeah, they change a few details to make it look as if they did the work themselves. (you know - add a few words here, omit a few words there - no problem) The nice thing about a press conference is that everyone there is supposed to have heard the same thing - so similarities in the stories are to be expected.

And viola! With this scenario you get the same bad story reported in a variety of ways, but similar enough to cause alarm to those seeing all the media bias.

Personally I don't think they're smart enough to form a conspiracy, after all they can't even do basic research. So, there you have my take on the latest blitz of bad news stories. It works for me - anyone else?

Comments

[CoolBlue]

Personally, I think you nailed it, Teresa.

[Teresa]

Thank you, I thought it came together nicely. :-)

[Harvey]

This puts me in mind of a science fiction story I once read (by Asimov, I think) where some blue collar sewer-worker needs a new shovel but his request gets turned down. So he talks his way up the bureaucratic chain of command up to the big cheese, and then gets sent down a diffent chain of people that the big guys use as advisors. Eventually he winds up in a basement office talking to some fourth-level assistant clerk whose offhand comment got passed up & over to become the reason for the turn-down. (The happy ending was that the shovel-guy managed to get the clerk's job :-)

This writer you speak of is the clerk in the basement of the halls of media power.

[Madfish Willie]

Meh... no gravitas! Tell Harvey to shut his pie-hole.