What is news?

In a a radio/media college textbook.

The chapter was titled "What is news."

"Wait for news to happen... don't go looking for it! For example, don't do an investigative story on the homeless, wait for one to die in the streets and then do the story...that is news!"

It was a first-hand experience in what I believe to be Orwellian thought police. I figured that the textbook was carefully/crafted and written by a Rhoads Schollar/Georgetown professor conspiring to twist the minds of eager students - convincing them that "Waiting for news to happen" was THE ONLY PROPER WAY of being a news reporter.

This is another reason why Y2K is not fully covered in the news.

Until something happens - such as 31,000 Social Security letters alerting that "Your policy will be canceled in 1900.") - it's not news.

-- dw (y2k@outhere.com), September 05, 1999

Answers

duh - excuse the typos - quit school at 15

-- dw (y2k@outhere.com), September 05, 1999.

You'll find this subject well covered in Ed Yourdon's latest chapter - New chapter in Humpty Dumpty Y2K project

-- Y2KGardener (gardens@bigisland.net), September 05, 1999.

Kinda reminds me of what the late Don Holliman -- CNN's former star NASA reporter -- once said (live) when asked why some story wasn't covered in greater depth. Holliman: "Hey, All we can report is what they tell us!" Yep... and that's pretty much been my impression of CNN's y2k coverage too.

-- Yan (no@no.no), September 05, 1999.

Oh my.

You're talkin' my language here. [grin]

A couple of maxims picked up from hanging out in newsrooms:

"When a man bites a dog, that's news."

"We are only as good as our sources."

and,

(From a veteran weatherman to a recently employed j-school graduate):

"I have ties older than you."

Otherwise, I mostly agree with Ed's observations.

:)

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), September 05, 1999.