Not All News Are Made The Same Way
Just As There Are Many Different News Publications Out There, So is The Standard
Hi everyone.
I am sending out this newsletter today, a Tuesday, rather than Monday, because today is Independence Day. I thought as we celebrate the founding of our nation, I will send this newsletter out then since freedom of the press is protected by our Constitution and because to be solid members of a democratic society, you need to be well-informed and exercise critical thinking.
For today, I am kind of doing part two of the last newsletter, where I explained why some news sources often focus on one topic or industry; which is why an entertainment news site or a beauty magazine won’t report on economic issues, crises in other countries, or even a local election that won’t affect many Americans.
For today, I will talk about how all news sources have different levels of reporting and writing and even standards. That is why some of them are more recommended for reading serious news stories rather than others. No, it is not because those sources are unreliable and heavily biased (although, that can be a issue). It is because the level is higher or lower than others.
It’s kind of like reading through your K - 12 years. In early elementary, you read simple books with simple words and storylines. As you moved up in the grades, those words and storylines got more complicated, and those books kept adding more and more pages. By the time you entered high school, the books you read in class - and probably in your own leisure - were more complex in describing human nature and the backstory of the characters and challenged you to think deeper about what was going on in the story and why.
Same with journalism, in a way. Some publications don’t go that deep into their reporting and may use sensationalistic words so you would keep reading. They might not even provide enough background information to help readers understand the big picture, and they may deliberately leave out some information. Publications most known for doing these include the New York Post and The Daily Mail (sometimes called The Daily Fail).
The screenshot I have above is from the New York Post’s comment section on its Instagram account. Although the Post does report on national and international news, it also will report on “human interest” stories or even stories that define the term “tabloid”. Now in case you are wondering, a tabloid is defined as “a newspaper this size concentrating on sensational and lurid news, usually heavily illustrated.” Stories that the Post has published include a woman who has 800 tattoos and cannot get a job, an abandoned house filled with creepy dolls and toys, and a dog owner who spends thousands per year to dye her pet dog’s hair pink and purple. And those stories were published in the last five days.
As for the Daily Mail, they do a lot of celebrity reporting and it’s either gossip or an article on how an actress went to a yoga studio while drinking a certain health drink while wearing a certain outfit that the Daily Mail dissects as if it is a fashion blog. It also has shopping and beauty tips. As for politics, there’s a lot of articles about what certain politicians said or tweeted about something. But not much on the issues.
So, will these be news sources you’d like to learn more about the riots in France, the SCOTUS rulings from the past week, and the two mass shootings in Philadelphia and Baltimore?
Hey, some people wouldn’t mind. Just like that commenter in that screenshot declared, some people like this kind of news and may not even care about the more serious stories. They enjoy the shock factor and the easy, get-to-the-point approach when it comes to reporting.
NOTE: One thing I can definitely say is the New York Post is a great place for journalists to flex their muscles and learn how to be aggressive in getting sources and the information needed. That’s because I once worked as a field reporter for the Post several years ago. I’ll never forget one security guard at City Hall calling Post reporters, “hardcore”. I took that as a compliment.
Anyway, some people like tabloids. They like the reporting style and the sometimes crazy story. That’s their preference.
But if you are seeking something with more meat, you’re going to have to look for sources. The same goes for whatever topic you want to read about. For example, when it comes to business reporting, there are levels too. You may want to read Yahoo Finance! to start off with, and then graduate to CNBC, Bloomberg, Insider, and others. You then would want to do your post-graduate reading (wink, wink!) by reading Barrons’, Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. Same with news about science, technology, and foreign affairs.
Come to think of it, maybe some of the publications that are dedicated to one topic created these publications so there will be plenty of room for all those articles and long-form features. Those articles can exist in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and TIME magazine, but they are also got to make room for all the other topics and news stories. With their own publications, they have more space for that topic.
It is also important to remember that many Americans have busy schedules and do not have the time to read long-form journalism, so they will turn to simpler publications such as USA Today, Insider, and so on. They also may prefer their local tabloids over the bigger newspapers (ie,: LA Daily News vs. The Los Angeles Times) so they can quickly grasp what is happening in the world and move on. This is something I want to discuss more about in the future.
But there you go. Not all news sources are equal because their style is different than the others. Not all news sources will give the news you seek. Don’t expect the New York Times to do a story on an obscure reality star and what they look like now years later; that is what the Daily Mail and the New York Post are for. The same goes for a parenting article from those two tabloids; if you want to really learn and gain knowledge and avoid sensationalism, you are better off reading from the Times.
Your choice. But don’t complain about the style and in-depth approach, or lack thereof, when there are so many options out there.
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