{"id":105477,"date":"2013-05-21T09:39:16","date_gmt":"2013-05-21T13:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/?p=105477"},"modified":"2013-05-21T09:44:30","modified_gmt":"2013-05-21T13:44:30","slug":"how-to-be-a-lousy-journalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2013\/05\/how-to-be-a-lousy-journalist\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Be A Lousy Journalist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Over at Intercollegiate Review<\/em>, I have a piece with some helpful journalism tips. Here\u2019s how \u201cHow to Be a Really Lousy Journalist for Fun and Profit<\/a>\u201d begins:<\/p>\n

There has never been a better time to consider a career in journalism. Newspapers are thriving, magazines are innovating, online journalism listicles are becoming more substantive, and cable-news talking heads are shouting at holograms.<\/p>\n

Journalists are living up to our reputation as the country\u2019s most trusted profession (at least compared to IRS agents and American Airlines customer-service representatives). Whether it\u2019s our nuanced and thoughtful analysis of hot-button topics such as gay marriage or our tenacious coverage of the terrorist attack in Benghazi<\/a> and Dr. Kermit Gosnell\u2019s abortion clinic<\/a> in Philadelphia, people know you can count on us to get the story right.<\/p>\n

Would you like to succeed in this environment? As a long-time reporter and media critic, I\u2019m happy to share tips on what to do if you want to make it in modern journalism.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Sweat the Details<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is there a difference between an Evangelical and an evangelist? Who cares<\/a>? Don\u2019t know the technical reason why Christians celebrate Easter? Will anyone really notice<\/a>? Do you confuse the author of Hebrews with Paris booksellers? We all do<\/a>! Whether you\u2019re reporting on important U.S. Supreme Court decisions<\/a> or how many people died<\/a> in a terrorist bombing, what\u2019s most important is getting the story first, not getting the story right, particularly under the pressure of a 24-hour news cycle.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Question Authority<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the powers-that-be suggest that a terrorist attack on the eleventh anniversary of 9\/11 was the spontaneous and direct result of an unseen YouTube video with junior high school production values, who are you to be skeptical?<\/p>\n

If these same authority figures suggest that therefore it\u2019s dangerous for Americans to speak freely, share their religious views, and express their artistic sensibilities however they want, you should probably just join them in calling for restrictions on these First Amendment freedoms<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s advice you\u2019ve seen me sarcastically give for years, if you\u2019re a GetReligion reader. But the folks here at GetReligion gave me excellent additional tips to include, and they\u2019re sprinkled throughout.<\/p>\n

There were dozens more I could have included. What are your tips for how to be a lousy journalist?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Image of journalist<\/a> via Shutterstock.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over at Intercollegiate Review, I have a piece with some helpful journalism tips. Here\u2019s how \u201cHow to Be a Really Lousy Journalist for Fun and Profit\u201d begins: There has never been a better time to consider a career in journalism. Newspapers are thriving, magazines are innovating, online journalism listicles are becoming more substantive, and cable-news […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":605,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,27,35,7,68,12,71,4,1],"tags":[148,1455,1628,1208,525,15473],"class_list":["post-105477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholicism","category-evangelicals","category-islam","category-journalism","category-getreligion-podcasts","category-religion","category-same-sex-marriage","category-social-issues","category-uncategorized","tag-benghazi","tag-corrections","tag-intercollegiate-review","tag-kermit-gosnell","tag-media-bias","tag-religious-liberty"],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Be A Lousy Journalist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over at Intercollegiate Review, I have a piece with some helpful journalism tips. 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