Elliot D. Pollack’s slide showing various occupations and their incomes in the current market. Credit: AZFamily.com
By Roland Murphy | AZBEX BEXclusive
It will probably come as no surprise to regular readers of my columns that News Analysis and Media Criticism were two of favorite classes back in college. Today’s outing will be a rare adventure in both.
There are a few reasons I targeted my training exclusively toward print reporting rather than broadcast journalism. The biggest reason is broadcast’s superficial detail. A three-minute piece is considered “long form” in standard TV news. That comes out to approximately 450 words, a little more than one-third of a magazine page if there are no pictures. That’s enough for “spot news” like a crime, car crash or other specific event. It’s barely enough to even introduce a major trend or topic, much less present any useful information about it.
Another issue with broadcast is the rarity with which broadcast journalists cover assigned beats anymore. You hardly ever see an education reporter, crime reporter, development reporter, etc. Staff and budget levels require nearly everyone to be a jack of all trades and master of none. There is little to no opportunity to actually develop expertise in a given area of coverage.
