According to ZipRecruiter, journalism is the most regretted college major (87%) followed by sociology (72%), and liberal arts (general studies) (72%). It’s not surprising, is it?
Walter Matthau in The Front Pageis what comes to my mind when I think about tabloids. He looks very much like the stereotypical journalist from another era, the old guard, who is shrewd and capable of selling his mother for a front page scoop. However, Matthau’s Walter Burns is a genuine and honest journalist who could be trusted to report on the news today.
Jack Lemmon portrays Hildy, the Chicago Examiner‘s most talented reporter. Hildy has just made the decision to quit journalism in order to marry Peggy Grant (played by Susan Sarandon). Burns, the paper’s editor, will do anything to prevent him from leaving and getting married. The Chicago Examiner has a morbid story to tell, and the possibility of getting the scoop about the impending execution of a death row inmate. Burns doesn’t want to let his readers down by Hildy’s decision to give up rock-and-roll journalism in favor of being a normal guy.
Burns says, “Every damn paper will have the same damn story about that execution.” But we’re going grab them all. You know what goes in there? Williams swinging at the neck.
Hildy raises questions: “What are your talking about?” It’s against the law. It is against the law to bring a camera into that area.
Walter knows it all: “Who’s going to know?” This is how it looked when I got it rigged. The tube is attached to your ankle. Next, run it up your pants leg. Make a small hole in your pocket. When Williams walks through the trap door, lift your leg and squeeze the bulb. Clever? Clever? The sirens start to ring and you take off. They’re creating the negative while you’re pitching the story. The picture is sent to the engraver at 7:22. We then begin setting up your copy. We re-plate your front page at 7:56. The presses begin rolling at 8:12 and you can be out on the streets with an additional at 8:47. How’s that?”
Hildy replies, “Walter, you’ll either get a Pulitzer Prize or a whole year in the clink.”
Like The Front Page, and its scheming leader, the postmodern general presse oscillates between black humor and yellow journalism. It can be difficult to distinguish between the two. The Washington Post finally admits that the United States has entered recession. However, it only says that it could be beneficial for your financial health. Lung cancer can be a good thing, even if it means you will no longer smoke.
Another way journalism has been reduced in value is similar to what happened in the Front Page. Clickbait was the natural evolution in yellow journalism towards the end of the 20th century when readers were converted to customers, merchandise and cattle. This was possible by destroying the ethics of the profession, which was later accelerated in the wake of the economic crisis.
Even the most outrageous tactics in The Front Page were copied in real newspapers. Famously, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo managed to obtain a photograph showing Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez as he testified before the Supreme Court in 1998 regarding the GAL state terror scandal. Photographers were not permitted at the deposition. However, the El Mundo journalist carried a remote shutter release in his pockets to activate a camera that was attached to his leg.
This, in my opinion, had some real informational value. A young journalist does not need to know how or have a good story. While it may be frustrating for students of journalism, it is also frustrating for readers and the country’s health.
Recent decades have seen a rise in manipulation and lying in media. These include the case of the 8-year-old boy who took heroin from the Washington Postin 80; the false missile fired by the British nuclear submarine in Persian Gulf during the Iraq War by Sky News (whose journalists never went near the war but captured the scenes while the vessel was moored in port); hacking celebrities by News Of The World; and, more recently, the social media blackout that has been revol involving Hunter Biden’s computer during the 2020 election.
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The rest of generalist journalism is based on telling readers that they are stupid. You’re likely to have seen headlines such as “The reason that you’ve been opening wrong boxes of cookies all your lives” (thanks, you’ll keep doing this), or “Your diet isn’t working.” This mistake may still be being made (eating). Or my favourite, which I just read: “The mistake we make when eating toast in Spain increases your risk for cancer” (smoking). ).
You could fill ten pages with headlines about global warming. It is clear that environmental hysteria is the main reason for much of the media’s credibility loss. This article combines two of the greatest tragedies in journalism: ideological capture and apocalyptic Clickbait. Recent news: “birds are becoming smaller due to global warming” (be careful when you step on mosquitoes as you might end up killing a hummingbird). “Climate change will endanger 460 glaciers in the world by 2050” (I love futurologists’ precision: precisely 460; and my favourite: “Global warming will cause an additional 250,000 deaths annually between 2030 and 2050.” (journalist modifies the Gospel of St. Matthew to say “But of that hour and day no one knows.”)
Journalism has suffered a devaluation that is not expected. This is something I believe we all have contributed in some way. However, it cannot be denied that we were warned by Walter Burns: “Marry an undertaker. Marry a blackjack dealer. Marry a pickpocket. But never marry a newspaperman.”
