About journalism
To start with, this blog is not directed to those journalists whose passion is the truth. Also, this blog is not directed to all those foreign correspondents who get their ass in danger day after day to inform their home country about what happens all over the world. This blog is not directed to all of the sincere journalists who work hard, who know what they write about and who do their job well. This blog is directed to all of those wannabe journalists who write false facts, who just write for attention, and who have absolutely no talent of writing.
When watching or reading the news nowadays you have two choices: serious news, or gossip news. Okay, fine, everyone should watch what they like most. But doesn’t it make you sad that people pay more attention to Amy Winehouse kissing a mouse than to a new law that the government passed, or a new climate catastrophe in Asia?
Another thing is the quality of media reports. With regard to this I’m not talking about the subject of a media report, I’m talking about how it is presented. If you ask me, the quality of media reports is declining. When listening or reading carefully, you notice more and more the bad language knowledge of “journalists”: ungrammatical constructions, spelling mistakes, meaningless and nonsensical sentences.
But also the content is kind of weird. Take a look at this example:
Headline: Police found dead baby in Dresden
Teaser: This morning, a resident found a dead baby on his land while working in his garden
Now who was it who found the baby? The police or a resident? Or is the resident maybe a policeman? I don’t think so.
This is just an example out of many that I notice again and again.
There are some principles of good journalism. Two of them are truth and correctness, correctness including not just information but also language. I wished more people who call themselves “journalists” would work more according to those principles. I wished more media reports would have a better quality and I wished there weren’t so many bad journalists that give a bad impression of the business and in that way harm sincere journalists.
Some people might think I’m over-reacting, or that this is finical, but those people are taking the jobs of those who are serious, sincere and very good. I don’t want to offend anyone who doesn’t deserve it. Also, I only know the situation in Germany, maybe in other countries it is different. But what saddens me most is that the consumers, us, let themselves get fooled because they simply do not pay any attention at all. If we wouldn’t buy those low quality papers there wouldn’t be so many on the market.
Listen carefully and be critical.
When watching or reading the news nowadays you have two choices: serious news, or gossip news. Okay, fine, everyone should watch what they like most. But doesn’t it make you sad that people pay more attention to Amy Winehouse kissing a mouse than to a new law that the government passed, or a new climate catastrophe in Asia?
Another thing is the quality of media reports. With regard to this I’m not talking about the subject of a media report, I’m talking about how it is presented. If you ask me, the quality of media reports is declining. When listening or reading carefully, you notice more and more the bad language knowledge of “journalists”: ungrammatical constructions, spelling mistakes, meaningless and nonsensical sentences.
But also the content is kind of weird. Take a look at this example:
Headline: Police found dead baby in Dresden
Teaser: This morning, a resident found a dead baby on his land while working in his garden
Now who was it who found the baby? The police or a resident? Or is the resident maybe a policeman? I don’t think so.
This is just an example out of many that I notice again and again.
There are some principles of good journalism. Two of them are truth and correctness, correctness including not just information but also language. I wished more people who call themselves “journalists” would work more according to those principles. I wished more media reports would have a better quality and I wished there weren’t so many bad journalists that give a bad impression of the business and in that way harm sincere journalists.
Some people might think I’m over-reacting, or that this is finical, but those people are taking the jobs of those who are serious, sincere and very good. I don’t want to offend anyone who doesn’t deserve it. Also, I only know the situation in Germany, maybe in other countries it is different. But what saddens me most is that the consumers, us, let themselves get fooled because they simply do not pay any attention at all. If we wouldn’t buy those low quality papers there wouldn’t be so many on the market.
Listen carefully and be critical.
My passion is to be a music journalist. I don't delve into news, or controversy! But thats a well cordinated blog! Great. I hope my writing doesn't hinge on mediocrity.
Let's Live A Dream, June 15th, 2008 at 02:25:52am
I don't look at any news much .. So I never know what's going on.
But I really hate it when people suck at literacy and have a low vocab, then they try to write something. >:[
Skippy., June 14th, 2008 at 03:12:39am
Good blog!
Now it's really going to bother me when I listen to the news.
hah.
But, Americans suck at everything.
We live in the country of English and most of the people don't even know how to speak properly.
Lame.
:]
blood.sex.and booze, June 13th, 2008 at 12:52:35pm
I'm guilty of reading teenybopper magazines =]
but yeah, i definitely understand what you're talking about, and good blog.
Miley Cyrus, June 12th, 2008 at 06:22:04pm
I don't pay attention to gossip news. I know nothing about Winehouse kissing mouses. Well, until now I didn't. I barely know who's Winehouse.
princess consuela, June 12th, 2008 at 04:05:34pm