Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!roger_warren_tang From: roger_warren_tang@cup.portal.com Newsgroups: news.misc Subject: Re: Is the news media really that stupid? Message-ID: <12470@cup.portal.com> Date: 11 Dec 88 09:51:10 GMT References: <33065@bbn.COM> <4355@pbhyf.PacBell.COM> <5999@hoptoad.uucp> <1942@sigma.UUCP> <6023@hoptoad.uucp> <885@hdr.UUCP> Organization: The Portal System (TM) Lines: 25 All this media bashing is besides the point. First, computer expertise is NOT easily picked up; if it was, why spend so much time training computer professionals? And journalists are supposed to jaunt in, spend five minutes interviewing a computer whiz who can barely articulate the concepts intelligibly to fellow computer and they are expected to get everything down letter perfect? Gimme a break... Second, the extremely defensive attitude of most computer users are not helping. It behooves computer users just as much to strive to coimmunicate their facts intelligently as it is for journalists to get it down right. That means taking a step back and realizing that journalists write for their audiences---which include both well educated people, people who are not educated and people who don't normally give a flying leap about computers. If computer professionals are NOT prepared to communciate their information effectively, then we deserve all the garbage we get. A lot of this entails writing up USABLE information releases, establishing consistent press contacts and EXPRESSING matters so that the widest possible audience understands it. None of this excuses the shoddy work done by the Murdoch paper in Boston, but this MIGHT explain why the Columbus paper ran a sidebar paper on a local business explaining how and why it was affected or not affected by a national story.