What is clickbait? Simply put, it is a headline or graphic designed to generate interest that leads to a story or article that does not deliver the promised content. If the headline is “Disney+ cancels a Star Wars show” then the article needs to tell you what show is being cancelled. Yes, it’s designed to…
Let’s take a moment to understand how it looks when an article uses data effectively — and what you can learn from that. There are so many abuses in media citations of statistics — from poorly conducted studies, to sloppy citations, to lack of transparency in sources — that I take notice when journalists do…
I am so sick of news organizations making this error. Here’s some text that from an article about inflation that appeared in the New York Times Friday. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index climbed 3 percent in the year through June, data released Friday showed, in line with what economists had expected. That was a slowdown from 3.8…
As a person who once made his living making predictions, I’m fascinated by how public figures speak about what they were wrong about. The New York Times created a natural exercise in studying that when it published eight “I was wrong” columns by its regular columnists on Sunday. And we learned that like all humans,…
Yesterday, the New York Times published a piece called “The Silent Partner Cleaning Up Facebook for $500 Million a Year.” Was it actually news, and should it change anything? What’s the news here? Here’s what’s in the article, most of which is far from shocking. Much of it repeats the revelations in an excellent exposé…
I was featured in an article in The New York Times today. The point was that some people have actually felt more comfortable during the pandemic than with their lives before — a sentiment that applies, at least partially, to me. My ability to control my environment and be close to my immediate family is…
Who is Donald Trump? Who is Joe Biden? What are their accomplishments, and how can we view their character? We may have more information about these two candidates than we’ve ever had in any other presidential election — especially with the recent information that the New York Times revealed about President Trump’s tax filings. Just…
The New York Times tweeted this over the weekend: At this moment in time, there are hidden stories in the choices that headline writers write. An active voice headline tells who did what. Two of these headlines are passive. A passive voice headline tells what happened, but hides the who. Minneapolis: A photographer was shot…
What follows is a transcript of a secret recording of the meeting last week of the New York Times Editorial Board as it discussed who it will endorse for President in 2020. Moderator: Okay, everyone, settle down. We have a momentous responsibility today. As you know, all the best people who are deciding who to…