He Reads the News So You Don't Have To (Riot Grrlz Edition)

Slate's media critic Jack Shafer should be required reading at all j-schools. His col on the Boston Globe's phoney-baloney girl/girl attack story is yet another example of the benefits of close reading:

The sixth or seventh paragraph of a bogus trend story usually contains the seed of its own destruction, but only rarely does a such trend story announce its bogusity in the subhead, as does a piece in today's (Sept. 4) Boston Globe.

"Vicious Attacks By Girl Cliques Seen Increasing," reads the piece's headline. The subhead-"Despite Police Statistics, Violence Causing Worries"-all but cancels the assertion of an increase in girl-on-girl violence. Indeed, the story's sixth paragraph cites Boston police statistics that show a decline in aggravated assaults by girls, ages 14 to 19.

Read the rest here.

Shafer uncharatertistically got mushy over H.L. Mencken in reason here.

Comments

[de stijl]

Catfight?

[madpad]

I once read a headline that went something like this...

"72% of High School Girls Report Being Sexually Assaulted"

About the 5th graph or so, the report confessed that the definition of "assault" included name-calling.

Another headline blared that less than 20% of public restroom patrons washed their hands.

Upon further reading, one finds out that washing hands was defined as using soap and water and washing for at least 15 seconds. Folks who skipped soap or shortened their washing time to 13 or 14 seconds were counted as not washing their hands.

Lame

[J sub D]

Wow, you mean you can't believe the headlines in the newspaper? I hate to brag, but I could see that coming when the paragon on print journalism, The Weekly World News, went out of business.

[Typical American]

This is why I get my news exclusively from blogs. And the Daily Show.

[Trollaphile]

Normally I am a big fan of anything girl on girl, not really fighing.

[Sam McManus]

I am sufficiently panicked! Who can tell me a liberty-curtailing way to fix this urgent, urgent problem?!

[BakedPenguin]

the headline actually says "Vicious Attacks By Girl Cliques Seen Increasing", so really, all it needs to be true is that more people, or a person witnessmore girl on girl violence. If there is a club in Boston where they have oil wrestling, and the reporter has an expense account, I suspect that this may very well be true.

[Flyover Country]

This in interesting timing:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070906/D8RFOV8O1.html

[Stevo Darkly]

Do the reported incidents include topless tickle-fights?

[The Extispicator]

You can basically sum up the newspapers as such:

EVERYONE IN AMERICA TO DIE

-7th paragraph: eventually.

[The Extispicator]

Funny, just after reading this Yahoo and my local newspaper's website both have the headline "Suicide Rate Soars for U.S. Teen Girls."

The upshot: in a small subset (12-14 year olds I think) the rate shot up 76%. Basically it went from like 40 a year to 70.

[Regis Carnifex]

J sub D,

Oh, how I miss the Weekly World News. I never actually bought a copy (maybe once), but it definitely made waiting in line at grocery stores a lot more fun.

Favorite headline, from a few years back: "CUBA LAUNCHES SHARK ATTACK ON U.S.- CASTRO'S EVIL PLAN TO TERRORIZE OUR BEACHES."

I think I'm going to take a minute of silence to mourn the paper's demise.

[ChrisO]

Girl Clique = yet another great band name.