Why is "beer journalism" so bad?

because journalism sucks in general. it's all about getting ad clicks.

 

Because after a few beers we all think we are journalists.

 

Wow, what a bunch of whining and uninformed opinions. At least half of you are confusing good journalism -- and there is plenty of it out there, largely in newspapers and magazines -- with the garbage on buzzfeed and other click bait websites. Look in the mirror before you start complaining about the declining quality of the written word.

 

This thread has been one of the better on BA in a while. Great points by many (minus the negative flamers) and a special thanks to those who have journalism expertise for contributing. Good journalism is not dead. The media outlets are in a lot of flux now.

My 2 cents: I have come not to expect too much from the major media outlets on beer. As pointed out, few have the level of knowledge to make this readership happy. I read the articles with a general interest and am pleased when I find something good. I look to books, this site, and periodicals for the best information. Perhaps some of the folks here should get into writing.

 

I would add it's also about fitting the story into the political agenda of the "journalist" rather than just reporting the information.

 

With beer and wine there are no absolutes, we as BA's or sports junkies like lists, the best, fastest, highest whatever. So if your writing an article on the best beers in America obviously you start with the biggest seller which is also the most popular right? After all the numbers say so, or does it.

If your writing on the scientific side of brewing or marketing strategies or things that are more certain research is in order.

 

95% of beer "journalism" (especially as it relates to the craft segment) nowadays is simply cheerleading. Most of it is pointless back-story drivel about the owner/brewer's previous career and how "innovative" they are with their new beers

It's rare to find someone critical of the industry, let alone a single beer/brewery.

 

There's been quite a few articles in magazines such as Imbibe that hire writers who clearly know the subject on which they write. But most newspaper writers on the subject have not only a time, but knowledge constraint. Fact check be damned.

And to think people who write and read are better informed than those who merely rely on a talking head on TV for their information. And even the Food channel is more about entertainment, than info dissemination.

 

We live in the age of 'The Cult of the Amateur' and too many people think that drinking a few beers qualities them to be 'experts'. Only those with real knowledge, experience over time, expertise, passion, insight and a capacity with words should consider being a beer writer. Restraint and humility are also core attributes.

 

THe one subject that is worse than beer reporting is music reporting. EIther you have the ones who think Miley Cyrus and Justin Beiber are the be all and end all of music, or you have ones like Rolling Stone and Spin, who will tell you about this stuff that you're not cool enough to get / listen to.
Like beer reporting, you can find good music and music writers, but you have to work at it to find them.

 

Beer is a hot topic and the internet is a cheap publisher. Good writers are plentiful, but apparently it's good sport to get a little angry about the fluff that decent platforms allow. Out of all of this modern freedom of expression there will continue to be the beautiful and the horrid. This medium is still very young. Cheers.

 

Ok, so I am by *no* means a celebrity or even authority and don't mean this to represent that I am. But for a variety of reasons, I have been interviewed for a few magazine and newspaper articles and twice on the radio on the subject of beer.

A completely eye-opening experience if there ever was one. The magazine articles misquoted me (so embarrassingly so that I actually emailed around a disclaimer to all of my beer friends after one), and the magazines and papers got facts I had clearly stated just plain wrong. On the radio, the conversation careened all over the place. The interviewer didn't understand my point, restated what I said incorrectly, then moved on in another direction. While I get that not everyone knows as much as most of us do about beer, this is not a subject that calls for the nuance of the international dynamics of the Syrian conflict, for example.

Admittedly, I was not being interviewed for the New York Times or on CNN - it was regional glossies and drive time radio in what could probably be called "a mid sized market". And it's just beer in the end - no one's life is at stake. But with all apologies to those in the Journalism field that have been posting, I will never take anything I read or hear in the media at face value without critical evaluation ever again.

 

I had a similar experience, and it kind of ruined what should have been a great memento for me. At least it made me more cynical, so I got that going for me .

 

Evan still contributes his excellent reporting frequently to BA mag!

 

It's funny to think that phrase was coined 5-6 years ago and people still take the internet seriously.

 

So then, you're a journalist?

 

As part of my job I was involved in incidents that made it into the local and sometimes national news. Never once did they get the facts close to what really happened.

 

Clearly you've never read my posts.

 

There are two very good beer magazines in our area, Mid-Atlantic Brewing News and Ale Street News. The contributors are all pretty much journalists and the writing covers geographic activity, homebrewing, trends, special interest features, and the like. These bi monthly publications are informative, interesting, and portable and can be found at many popular breweries, brewpubs, and tappies.

 

I subscribe to 3 or 4 Craft Beer Magazines. I dont want to get a nasty gram from the mods so i will only talk about BA Mag in this post.

Living in FL we have a growing craft beer scene (south FL in particular)
What I cant find in most of these publications, even in BA Mag are stories on these florida Breweries. I once sent a BM to the Bros asking about the lack of FL or even Southern coverage. The respone I recieved was that the stories are sent to BA by individual contributors. They just dont get any/many sumbited from FL. So that makes it ok!?

Like this last issue of BA, every year they list the new breweries that have opened in the last year. (obviousley the dont get them all, but they list a good number)

NOT ONE FL Brewery Listed. WHY!! Did you not "Know" about them. Hell most of them are talked about on this site.
Fundky Buddha opened in the Summer
Wynwood Brewing (Miami)
Tomaka Brewing
FT Meyers Brewing
Rapp Brewing
Due South
Gravity Brew Lab
Point Ybel
Three Palms Brewing
Pair O'Dice
Cycle Brewing
3 Daughters
Green Bench

These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Beer Journalism in general is not very good, beer journalism about FL breweries flat out does not exist.

I asked the same question about the beer reviews in BA and they said, we review beers that get sent to us. If you would like to send a selection on FL beer feel free. REALLY!!!!