The Journalist Bubble

[Rion]

A couple of things I wanted to share: First a new study that shows just how much of a bubble journalists tend to dwell in:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2018.1436977

And a study from last year about the journalists' brain functions:

Journalists' brains function at a lower level than average, study say…

Journalists drink too much, are bad at managing emotions, and operate at a lower level than average, according to a new study

Journalists' brains show a lower-than-average level of executive functioning, according to a new study, which means they have a below-average ability to regulate their emotions, suppress biases, solve complex problems, switch between tasks, and show creative and flexible thinking.

Add to this their tendency to act like a herd, and you begin to see the problem...

 

[MoonlessNight]

Seeing the title, I thought this would be about a "bubble" in an economic sense.

That is, the value of journalists has been dramatically overinflated up to this point in history, with the expectation that people should be trusted merely because they are journalists and not because they actually have any worthwhile qualifications or abilities. That status is of course very attractive to people who desire respect but don't want to earn it, and so not only has the number of journalists increased, but journalists and their associates have spent more and more time defending journalism merely for being journalism, which further overinflated the value of journalists.

Of course, just like an economic bubble, once people start getting an idea of what the true value of something is, the bubble will burst quite quickly.

 

[A_Thinker]

more from the study ...

Journalists scored pretty high on:

• Abstraction, the ability to deal with ideas rather than events. It's related to the part of the brain where the most sophisticated problem-solving takes place. In other words, it highlights the ability to think outside the box and make connections where others might not see them.
• Value tagging, the ability to assign values to different sensory cues, such as whether something is a priority or has meaning. Scoring highly in this area indicates a good ability to sift through information and pick out what's important.

Journalists scored lower on:

• Executive function. As well as the traits mentioned above, low scores for executive function also suggest poor sleep, nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness. Many participants reported they had no time for breaks while working.
• Silencing the mind, which is related to the ability to have thoughts without getting distracted by them, or a powerful ability to focus. Low scores indicate the opposite, suggesting journalists have a hard time preventing themselves from worrying about the future or regretting the past.

Compared with bankers, traders, or salespeople, journalists showed that they were more able to cope with pressure. Traits that make journalism a stressful profession are deadlines, accountability to the public, unpredictable and heavy workloads, public scrutiny, repercussions on social media, and lower pay.

The results, however, showed that the journalists were on average no more physically stressed than the average person. The blood tests showed that their levels of cortisol — known as the stress hormone — were mostly normal.

"The headline conclusion reached is that journalists are undoubtedly subject to a range of pressures at work and home, but the meaning and purpose they attribute to their work contributes to helping them remain mentally resilient despite this," the study says. "Nevertheless, there are areas for improvement, including drinking more water and reducing alcohol and caffeine consumption to increase executive functioning and improve recovery during sleep."

 

[Tanj]

more from the study ...

Journalists scored pretty high on:

• Abstraction, the ability to deal with ideas rather than events. It's related to the part of the brain where the most sophisticated problem-solving takes place. In other words, it highlights the ability to think outside the box and make connections where others might not see them.
• Value tagging, the ability to assign values to different sensory cues, such as whether something is a priority or has meaning. Scoring highly in this area indicates a good ability to sift through information and pick out what's important.

Journalists scored lower on:

• Executive function. As well as the traits mentioned above, low scores for executive function also suggest poor sleep, nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness. Many participants reported they had no time for breaks while working.
• Silencing the mind, which is related to the ability to have thoughts without getting distracted by them, or a powerful ability to focus. Low scores indicate the opposite, suggesting journalists have a hard time preventing themselves from worrying about the future or regretting the past.

Compared with bankers, traders, or salespeople, journalists showed that they were more able to cope with pressure. Traits that make journalism a stressful profession are deadlines, accountability to the public, unpredictable and heavy workloads, public scrutiny, repercussions on social media, and lower pay.

The results, however, showed that the journalists were on average no more physically stressed than the average person. The blood tests showed that their levels of cortisol — known as the stress hormone — were mostly normal.

"The headline conclusion reached is that journalists are undoubtedly subject to a range of pressures at work and home, but the meaning and purpose they attribute to their work contributes to helping them remain mentally resilient despite this," the study says. "Nevertheless, there are areas for improvement, including drinking more water and reducing alcohol and caffeine consumption to increase executive functioning and improve recovery during sleep."

Thanks for saving me the time of having to find out what the studies actually said.

 

[bhsmte]

I think for the most part, journalism these days is more bias than it used to be and ideology tends to be one of the prime motivators in the content of what they write and how they write it.

We see it both on the left and right.

 

[sendy123]

I love all the entries!

 

[AirPo]

Thanks for saving me the time of having to find out what the studies actually said.

Seems the author of the article linked in the OP may not be a journalist.

 

[Rion]

Seems the author of the article linked in the OP may not be a journalist.

What is libel for $100 Alex?

Author's Bio:
I'm a reporter at Business Insider UK who covers things like psychology, science, relationships, and lifestyle.

I have a degree in zoology and an MA in science journalism from City University.

 

[AirPo]

What is libel for $100 Alex?

Author's Bio:
I'm a reporter at Business Insider UK who covers things like psychology, science, relationships, and lifestyle.

I have a degree in zoology and an MA in science journalism from City University.

What does the word "may" mean for $0 Alex?

And then answer should be in the form of a question.

 

[MoonlessNight]

What does the word "may" mean for $0 Alex?

And then answer should be in the form of a question.

Congratulations on posting something completely vacuous then.

Making that sort of post may be idiotic, and that sort of defense may be something that only a pedantic midwit would make. But then again, it may not be.