Thursday, October 13, 2011

Subjective journalism

Flipping through the channels, I landed on Larry Moore of KMBC 9 News talking about the 75th anniversary of Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. I didn't catch the full report, only the last few seconds, including this (paraphrased) wrap-up statement from Mr. Moore:

"Municipal Auditorium is, of course, one of the most famous buildings in America."

I'm not making that up. Really, Larry? One of the most famous buildings in America? That's a bit subjective, isn't it? In fact, I would venture to say it's not even one of the most famous buildings in America NAMED MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM. A Google search of the phrase finds references to Municipal Auditorium in Nashville higher than a link to the Kansas City facility, and slightly below that are links to Municipal Auditoriums in Shreveport, La., and freakin' Harlingen, Texas. Not that a Google search is an appropriate indicator of popularity, but it's sure as hell a better indicator than KMBC used.

And the fact that it's bad reporting doesn't even bother me too bad - every human listening to that broadcast, if they gave it a half-second of thought, would know the statement was bogus. But I'm offended by the laziness of the statement.

Just because you're on TV doesn't mean you can phone in your facts and make wildly subjective statements.

3 comments:

  1. Lovely the world of journalism - especially sports journalism - and their over-usage of hyperbole, huh? It's like when you're watching a game or a highlight show, and they keep saying a play is "unbelievable".

    Well, not really, it just happened, so it's not "un"believable.

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  2. Amazing, unbelievable, awesome and incredible should be saved for a Royals' World Series victory, universal health care or the Second Coming.

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  3. My post and the two great comments here stand, but a quick correction: my memory is coming back to me, and Larry Moore actually called Municipal Auditorium one of the most "historic" buildings in America, not "famous." Sorry for the error. Still... really???

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