Yesterday it was NPR engaging in Horton journalism, today it is Reuter’s.
No reference to how often these sorts of parole failure happen, no mention that the attack was thwarted by someone on release from a murder charge.
Pure Horton.
We have to do better than this.
No reference to how often these sorts of parole failure happen, no mention that the attack was thwarted by someone on release from a murder charge.
Pure Horton.
We have to do better than this.
For those unfamiliar w Willie Horton journalism: it’s the practice of discussing any one parole/etc. failure without giving any context about how representative it is.
Horton’s famous failure got tons of media attention. Ignored was his program’s > 99% (!!) success rate.
Horton’s famous failure got tons of media attention. Ignored was his program’s > 99% (!!) success rate.
So “Horton journalism” is shorthand for the practice of fearmongering off any one salient anecdotal failure to attack entire programs.
Politically, it is why politicians say they are afraid to take risks, although the actual *electoral* risk of Horton journalism is unknown.
Politically, it is why politicians say they are afraid to take risks, although the actual *electoral* risk of Horton journalism is unknown.
The @MarshallProj had a good history of Horton’s case and coverage here: themarshallproject.org/2015/05/13/wil…
And here’s a good @monkeycageblog piece on why we may overstate the political risk of this coverage: washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-ca…
And here’s a good @monkeycageblog piece on why we may overstate the political risk of this coverage: washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-ca…
