Mark Jacob is former editor at the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, freelance author and avid tweeter of media critiques.
It was his thread on “dirty secrets of journalism” that commanded my attention as I’ve long kept my own list of hidden tactics of the trade.
12 dirty little secrets of journalism. A thread:
1. When a reporter writes a warm human-interest story about a politician, it’s often an attempt to soften up the pol to get a better story later. Stories that make pols look good are known in the business as “beat sweeteners.”
In this #pod, Jacob and I dissect a few “secrets,” volley back and forth on dependency on anonymous sources, reveal why Rahm Emanuel was the champion manipulator in Chi-town and tussle over political bias in the press corps.
The top begins with a riff on POLITICO Playbook’s menacing need for urgency every morning, but because I love you, this entire POD is #free.
The 12 Dirty Secrets of Journalism with Mark Jacob