Why is "beer journalism" so bad?

I've heard many professors gripe over what kids are in college these days, graduating too... and I suppose those kids will get some of these jobs. Standards aren't the same and we're eerily moving in the direction that is depicted in the movie Idiocracy.

 

That "Food Babe" article comes to mind... ugh. Journalism in general is mostly poorly done these days, unfortunately. It's not just beer. I think the beer articles just stick out to us more for obvious reasons.

 

Because it's mostly aimed at people that care about vortex bottles.

 

This has been discussed often on BA but in different variations. I think there are 3 different types of beer journalism.

1. Mainstream beer only journalism. This ranges quite a bit, beginning with the downright awful like the press releases disguised as reputable articles or the horrible lists in publications across the spectrum. On the other end are great local reporting in news outlets across the country. I especially like the New York Times food and wine section.

2. Food centric journalism. Sometimes this is good, like the aforementioned NYT, but often falls into the "beer is different from wine" trap. Check out Bon Appetit. Their summer grilling issue sand the praises of pony bottles of High Life, and the most recent issue details high end restaurants offering PBR and 40 ounces of in their word, "less than premium beer." Would they ever write this way about wine? Highly doubtful.

3. Craft beer journalism. When good, this vein of beer journo is critical, yet informative and enlightening, for lack of a better word. When bad, it feels like fanboy homages to the latest and greatest and/or bashing anything BMC does.

 

Probably because the B.A. professional designation after the name of the various writers doesn't stand for the same 'BA' that we all know and love.

 

Yeah, I miss Evan Benn... The guy did an awesome job covering the STL craft beer scene.

 

Because Michael Jackson redefined the word Craft Beer, Beer journalism and introduced pretty much every country to these own Craft beers. Since he passed away no one is able to fill his shoes.

 

It's not just beer journalism. Name a subject area and journalism is ripe if you know anything about that area. Education? Reporting is clueless and journalists don't understand statistics at all. Computer security? Once you're off professional sites, reporting takes a real dive. Beer? Well, you know that one already.

 

Journalism even on professional sites has taken a dive. With every hipster with a Mac and a degree from a fancy pass/fail college willing to do whatever their editor tells them; what we call news slowly morphed into advertising for the corporations that own them. The true be told that the big newspaper’s profits got clobbered by the drool flooding the internet. Now large corporations and wealthy individuals buy the larger and respected newspapers like… well the rest of the 95% buy a newspaper.

It’s no secret that corporations fund elections and hire lobbyist to push bills into laws. Now not only are those corporations controlling the advertising for the so called politicians but now the only unbiased respected sources we have left. Meanwhile whistle blowers are exiled and jailed for acts that 20 years ago would have made them heroes. So yeah I agree with you for the most part but sadly the term “professional sites” seems to resemble the world's oldest profession day by day.

 

Is there such a thing as journalism anymore? Pretty much most of these people are unemployed or under-employed Liberal Arts majors who are really nothing more than "Bloggers"

 

Shitty beer bloggers who could not tell you the difference between ales and lagers if their lives were at stake...yet in WA( a state with historically bad palates) if you have a blog then you MUST be an expert, right?
http://pnwbeerchick.com/
http://pissedlibeerian.blogspot.com/
http://blog.seattlepi.com/washingtonbeerblog/
http://brewdad.com/

 

In the battle between good and evil the “HopDevil” has “Victory” on its side.

 

It's bad because WE don't hold them to a higher standard. It's the same reason that one of the most well known advocate of cooking with beer is a total hack.

 

Because the media treats beer as filler/fluff.

 

Sadly I think it's because the bulk of the audience is no better. Again, just like in that horrible movie Idiocracy.

 

The horrible thing about that movie was the truth that the ignorant far outpace the intelligence when it comes to breeding. It was an oversimplification and a lampooning, but it had some reality and relevance.

But this is a beer board - I'm sorry. I must go drink now.

 

I'm totally on board with the thesis that standards have regressed in almost all fields, but there is still a pertinent issue of why beer journalism is proportionally worse, on average, than most other subjects.

To make the most obvious comparison, why doesn't wine journalism suffer anywhere near as much from the inane context and lack of rigour that characterize so many beer articles?

 

For my two cents, I think it is hard to criticize beer journalism when readers aren't exactly sure what they want to see. Is it simply that "this beer" is coming out at "this time."? Is it articles about a trend of rose hips as an ingredient in beer? Is it wanting to know what is going on with the beer scene in my locale? If you can find a local source, whether it is a blog or simply a newspaper that provides info on area breweries, that is probably the best place to look for news on your beer scene. The key is to find a news source that can provide local info stick with it. If you are looking for trend pieces, you probably need to cast a wider net, hence references to the New York Times. Chicago Tribune also reports on the local beer scene, for example.

 

I registered just for the sake of commenting on this.

As a student of journalism (yeah, I know, I don't want a job after graduation), I am often faced with the fact of not knowing what my readers want in this subject, although I'm certainly up to mentioning articles on beer to my editor. I certainly want to know what I'd want to read in such an article, but that isn't necessarily what sells. My local place actually posts BA ratings and sometimes the top review of any given beer on tap, which, when written well, is kinda what I'd hope for. The brew scene where I am is just starting to really grow outside of the Knoxville area, so there's going to be more to report on, and hopefully more niche publications for that.

I guess my comment is more of a question: what do YOU as readers who know your subject matter expect from journalists who would write on this topic? I'd love to specialize in food/beer journalism when I'm done with college, but there's not a lot to go on in regards to standards. As others have said, beer journalism isn't like wine journalism where people HAVE a preponderance of writers to reference.