[PRCo] Re: The Tartan

[Fred Schneider]

Over my lifetime Fred Schneider worked with my journalists.  I found   
most of them were pretty good when it came to understanding people  
and issues about people.   Send them out to cover a town meeting or a  
general political gathering and they generally got the facts  
straight.   But most of them were like you and me.  They didn't  
understand the ramifications of the labor market, for example.   The  
York, Pennsylvania newspapers always sent me a new person every month  
to cover the labor force news release and every month I had to  
explain all the principles that were involved ... I used to call it  
the "business reporter of the month club."   The truth was, no one  
wanted that job.  Probably no one really understands engineering  
either.   No one understand railroads.   Few understand automotive  
engines or emission controls.

So who is guilty, the newspaper or the person being interviewed?

I have come to accept that the person talking to the newspaper  
reporter is guilty.

The journalist knows that the layman reads at a 6th grade level and  
he must write for that level.   If the FRA accident report talks  
about interlocking plants the news reporter is going to garble it but  
if the report talks about use of crack cocaine, it will be  
understood.   If someone trying to clarify a report speaks to the  
journalist and uses the word engineer, the journalist is probably  
going to change it to "driver" because that is what the reader will  
understand.

If we cannot speak to the news reporter about our sophisticated  
corner of the planet in a way that the reporter can understand, it  
will be garbled beyond all recognition.   Guaranteed.   And I've  
concluded it is our fault because no newspaper can have reports  
versed in every possible technical field on this planet.

Did I come across with sufficient clarity?

fws3


On Feb 23, 2007, at 1:12 PM, John Swindler wrote:

>
>
> Maybe it is because journalist are trained in composition, grammer and
> creative writing, not in the topic they are trying to write about.   
> Creative
> people go into journalism.  Logical people go into engineering.
>
> I once spent some time trying to edit a magazine.  Found that I  
> could not
> compose text and then edit it.  Seemed to be two completely different
> thought processes.  So I would try to spend several days putting  
> together
> "garbage" just to get something down on paper, then would have to  
> come back
> week or so later and try to edit for grammer and facts.  (and I am  
> very
> envious of several others who seem to have the ability to compose  
> finished
> text with no problem at all.)
>
> Many many years ago there was an article in Harvard Business Review  
> that
> discussed that people seemed to analyze/plan on left side of brain  
> (sort of
> logical side) and the right side tended to be more intuitive/ 
> creative side.
> One comment was that those who are technically proficient don't  
> always make
> the best managers/leaders.  Seemed to make a lot of sense to this
> non-creative person.
>
> John
>
>
>
>
>
>
>> From: Bill Robb <bill937ca at yahoo.ca>
>> Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: The Tartan
>> Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2007 06:31:29 -0800 (PST)
>>
>> We have become a society that is always in a hurry.  I've had slides
>> printed backwards. All you have to do is look at the image.  When  
>> the words
>> on the destination sign are backwards the image is backwards. But  
>> in the
>> photo lab all they do is look at the slide mounting.  If the slide is
>> mounted backwards, they print it backwards!  You will find images  
>> scanned
>> backwards in online archives. Obviously, no one is checking if the  
>> image is
>> correct. Quality takes time and as a society we don't want to take  
>> time.
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Why is it so many journalism writers constantly make so many  
>> mistakes?
>> What
>> ever happened to getting the facts straight?  I get frustrated  
>> when I see
>> mistakes after mistake that should not have ever gotten away.
>>
>> A 29 year old journalism major did an article on me here at  
>> Purchase and
>> there are more things incorrect than correct.  Major music  
>> magazines going
>> out to educators that have cover photos printed backwards are  
>> constantly
>> showing up in the mailbox.
>>
>> Yes, I make mistakes and they have shown up in the PTM calendar  
>> and my
>> book.
>> God (and most people) knows I am not a perfect musician.  A few  
>> years back
>> there was a stress reducing book entitled something along the  
>> lines of
>> Don't
>> Sweat the Small Stuff.   We need to learn to sweat the small stuff  
>> and the
>> big stuff looks easy.
>>
>> Dennis Fred Cramer
>>      Trombone
>>
>>
>>
>> _____________________________________________________________________ 
>> _______________
>> Do you Yahoo!?
>> Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.
>> http://new.mail.yahoo.com
>>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by  
> Experian.
> http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx? 
> sc=660600&bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE
>
>