Washington Post: In-Depth Reporting on Complicated Issues

In-Depth Reporting in an Industry of Deadlines

Former Ithaca College professor Michael Scully once called television journalism “a mile wide and an inch deep.” My experience with television news has largely confirmed this statement; the networks I’ve watched, including CNN and FOX, barely have enough time to cover the current issues in America and the rest of the world in the twenty minutes they have on air, much less go in-depth about any of them, when they are not squandering time on “news of the weird” stories like people finding strange objects in their food.

-This article effectively addressed the issue of negative campaign ads, and brought their effectiveness into question. It appropriately analyzed the tone and helped find where they went wrong.

-This article appropriately touches on Obama’s tactics, and is especially useful as it may impact what he offers to do while in office.

-This article effectively keeps the reader updated on the candidates changing policies, and effectively discusses the policies and their implications.

Staying relevant is an important issue for the news business, but so is providing high-quality and in-depth reporting. Many television stations and some blogs fail to do that, and even many newspapers, given the space and the opportunity, do not serve this need. Citizens should look to newspapers like the Washington Post for in-depth coverage of the issues that guide our presidential race.