In the old days, journalism was the art of stating the facts in a manner that was crisp, concise, and without the opinion of the author. The reader decided how he felt about it. There was no room for repetition. The reader had no time for filler. He had more important things to do. The more space a journalist had; the more details were given. There was a catchy title, an interesting first line, and the five w’s: who, what, when, where, why, (and how). That was all. There were no opinions, sensationalism or adverbs allowed.
Today journalism is a competition to acquire the most followers. The first paragraph repeats the title in three to five interesting ways. The second paragraph offers very little information told in a manner begging or demanding that the reader agree. The third paragraph exaggerates the details of the second paragraph. The fourth paragraph repeats the title and opinions of the writer. The fifth paragraph closes the article by repeating the title in three to five more ways. The reader is left with a deeper understanding of what the writer wants him to believe with very few facts to support this position.
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