Saturday, October 25, 2008

More reporting incompetence at the New York Times

Here's why the public has such a low opinion of the media. While the real estate market was tanking, it was big news. Now, when there's a glimmer of hope--well, it's still bad news.

Notice in the lead paragraph, the writer reports the turn-around in sales, but immediately dismisses it with an unattributed, subjective and perhaps inaccurate comment (i.e., the credit crisis has intensified since those home sales occurred).

If the writer had been paying attention on Friday and earlier, most of the reports and analysis suggested that credit was loosening up. But whether it is or not, the first paragraph is not the place for such an unattributed statement. When I was in journalism school, the professor would have climbed all over me for shoving it into the lead. Or using it at all if I didn't have it attributed to someone.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dennis, I guess you did not get past the first paragraph!

For example: “It’s pretty clear that these are sales of foreclosed properties at bargain prices, so given that, it doesn’t look like this is the turning point,” said Nigel Gault, chief United States economist at IHS Global Insight."

Also, your opening line goes unsubstantiated - the NYT has a huge readership. Don't they count?

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