From: scasterg@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Stuart M Castergine)
Subject: Media not liberal/conservative. Media *stupid*
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 08:08:47 GMT

The problem with the media is not an inherent left or right bias. The
problem is the low quality of the individuals covering the news.

I have a BA in journalism from Ohio State. Frankly, from what I saw in
school and from what I've observed at the newspapers I've worked for,
the level of intelligence and ability among journalists is saddeningly
low.

At best, most are just average Joes doing a job. Few have the ability
to properly analyze the information they receive. Thus, I think many
news reports are inaccurate or biased simply because the reporter
doesn't know any better or was too lazy to dig.

There are a hundred pitfalls awaiting reporters out there. Just a
few:

1. If you stay on a beat a long time, there is a natural tendency to
slowly become an "insider." You start associating with the same bunch
of cronies and losing your objectivity (if you ever had it). You start
going to your "tried and true" sources more and more often and your
stories reflect their viewpoints. There's more than a thousand
reporters out there who are little more than PR men for the agencies
they are supposed to cover. I know many reporters who have actually
left their jobs to go do PR work for agencies/companies/politicians
they used to report on.

2. If you are new to a beat -- especially one requiring specialized
knowledge (which is almost everything when you think about it), it is
very easy to get snowed. The worst example I can think of is extreme
and even laughable, but it happens every day in more subtle ways. A
science reporter I knew at a major metro daily wrote a story (about a
proposed particle accelerator) in which he said that the electron was
the heaviest particle in an atom (as opposed to protons and neutrons,
just to make myself perfectly clear).  This passed by all the copy
editors and ran in the paper. I approached him, to try to tell him
that an electron is lighter than a proton or neutron by huge orders of
magnitude, and he stuck by his guns, telling me "that's what he told
me." They guy simply did not have the ability to challenge the epxerts
on his beat. He was completely at their mercy. And not only him, but
every editor and copy editor who read that story. There must have been
at least four or five, and none of them knew enough about basic
chemistry or physics to even think to question the statement. This
happens all the time. Heck, electrons, protons and neutrons are kid
stuff. What do you think happens to these people when they have to
confront complicated issues like global warming, ozone depletion, the
economic effects of changes in interest rates and money supplies?
They're clueless! They're lost!
  People assume reporters on various beats have some qualifications to
talk about the subject they are reporting on, and it is simply not
true. Beats are handed out on the basis of seniority and politics and
personal preference in most papers. There is rarely any attempt to
find someone who is really conversant with legal issues, for example,
to cover the courts. There is this arrogant attitude in the business
that "a good reporter can cover any topic." It is simply not true.

3. It is very easy to let the PR departments of corporations and
government agencies dictate what you view as "news." Every day, PR
letters arrive at your desk, and it is *so* tempting to check these
out first, instead of walking out into the cold world and finding out
what is happening that no PR department wants you to know about.

So, don't bother me about liberal and conservative biases in the
media. Most members of the media aren't competent to really understand
the political issues in question, no less to have the responsibility
of informing the rest of the public. I'm convinced that much of the
perceived bias is really a result of ignorance and laziness than any
conscious attempt to distort the news.

Publishers on the hand, are another matter entirely. That breed has no
qualms about killing a story because it goes against their interests.
but, hey, they own the paper/station, so there's not much you can do
about it.

-- 
scasterg@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu -- Stuart M. Castergine
Fiver: "Oh, Hazel, look! The field! It's covered with blood!"
Hazel: "Don't be silly, it's only the light of the sunset." -- Watership Down
Xref: sparky alt.news-media:1586 alt.politics.bush:13233 alt.politics.clinton:15924