Wednesday, August 28, 2002
Sociology majors, Part II: A friend and Hub Blog have been having an interesting correspondence about sociology majors posing as journalists, i.e. the type of reporters who do agenda-driven stories based on God-awful academic studies and government data. (See blog below.) My friend noted the "creeping" NYT phenomenon of such stories in print, which really say (as my astute friend puts it), "I'm writing this as a graduate of a prestigious university, you should know."
My reaction was this: "Having a closet sociology major on your editorial staff is an editor's worst nightmare, or at least it was my worst nightmare as an editor. The sociology majors are usually frustrated academics who see their jobs as journalists as engaging in 'real life' research, thus puffing themselves up in their own minds and making themselves acceptable to their tenured pals on campus. They usually rely on statistics, studies and professors for their sources. They couldn't cover a City Hall, a crime scene, a riot, a war, a hurricane, a flood or anything else that requires real, digging reporting. They need to have their info handed to them on a platter."
This is a real problem at newspapers: Reporters who don't report -- and don't like to report. They view themselves as "writers," "intellectuals" or "artists," and wince at the title "reporter." The Globe isn't alone in this trend. It's a growing problem throughout the industry. If an editor is truly lucky, the staff sociology major ends up leaving the paper to attend a writers' workshop or, better yet, moves to Europe.
My reaction was this: "Having a closet sociology major on your editorial staff is an editor's worst nightmare, or at least it was my worst nightmare as an editor. The sociology majors are usually frustrated academics who see their jobs as journalists as engaging in 'real life' research, thus puffing themselves up in their own minds and making themselves acceptable to their tenured pals on campus. They usually rely on statistics, studies and professors for their sources. They couldn't cover a City Hall, a crime scene, a riot, a war, a hurricane, a flood or anything else that requires real, digging reporting. They need to have their info handed to them on a platter."
This is a real problem at newspapers: Reporters who don't report -- and don't like to report. They view themselves as "writers," "intellectuals" or "artists," and wince at the title "reporter." The Globe isn't alone in this trend. It's a growing problem throughout the industry. If an editor is truly lucky, the staff sociology major ends up leaving the paper to attend a writers' workshop or, better yet, moves to Europe.
