Local TV Pushes Fake Medical News

Journalism tops the list, and advertising isn't far behind

(NEWSER) - Parents of high school seniors take note: The Daily Beast has compiled a list of the 20 most useless college degrees, based on salaries, number of jobs available, and general trend of crappiness. The losers:

1. Journalism: Median starting salary is $35,800; percentage change in number of jobs from 2008 to 2018 is -6.32%.
2. Horticulture: $35,000; -1.74%
3. Agriculture: $42,300; -0.88%
4. Advertising: $37,800; -1.71%
5. Fashion design: $37,700; +0.81%

It's all politics, all the time, and it works

(NEWSER) - If you want to see the future of news—and how it will be delivered—look no further than Politico as a reasonable guide, writes Newser founder Michael Wolff in Vanity Fair. Unlike general-interest newspapers, which flail about knowing too little about everything, Politico has an obsessive focus: “It exalts, and fetishizes, in breathless, even orgiastic news flashes, the most boring subject in the world: the granular workings of government bureaucracy.” More»

Journalism faces a challenge, but hardly a disaster

(NEWSER) - We know it’s coming, that day when print newspapers cease to exist, but it won’t be this year, right? Maybe, maybe not, Michael Hirschorn writes in the Atlantic, and it wouldn’t necessarily be a disaster. The New York Times is in trouble—it could default on $400 million in debt come May. “Sooner than most of us think,” the Times will be digital-only, Hirschorn predicts. More»

Serious guests, hard news drive impact on American dialogue

(NEWSER) - Oh, what a difference eight years makes. The Daily Show struggled with limited access and no respect during the 2000 presidential race, but in this election the show has emerged as “a genuine cultural and political force,” writes Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times. Not only are presidential candidates clambering to make guest appearances, but The Daily Show may be the newsiest news hour around. More»

But print reporters dig up the stories that play on TV

(NEWSER) - Twenty-four-hour cable networks set the news agenda by turning stories "from brushfire to raging conflagration," Paul Farhi writes in the American Journalism Review. Particularly during presidential campaigns, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC pull stories from newspapers and web sites and make them hot by running them day and night. But telling this to print reporters sets off instant debate. More»