The journalist's vice

Tim Worstall and the Devil's Kitchen both lay into Polly Toynbee today. What they haven't said is that her first line - "Who do you believe? That is the only political question that ever matters" - illustrates one of journalist's worst vices.
The notion that what matters is whom you believe rather than what you believe is a feature of the dead tree industry generally.
Take this from the Sunday Times:

[Mike Lenhoff of Brewin Dolphin] said: “Wall Street has lagged other markets this year and it has some serious catching up to do..." Others are not convinced. Simon Hayley of Capital Economics, a consultancy, said: “We expect US equities to continue to lag the rest of the world..."

The question of the direction of the US market is thus a question of which expert to trust. The interesting issue - is there any predictability in US markets, and if so on what grounds? - is just ignored.
Or take another example - coverage of MRSA in hospitals, as described by Ben Goldacre. If you believe the right expert, MRSA is everywhere. If you believe other experts, it's not. The question of how exactly you test for MRSA does not get reported so much.
The meeja, then, reduces stories to questions of whom to believe. Polly is merely expressing this vice. Sometimes, they do this to manufacture a story, sometimes from laziness; getting a soundbite is easier than doing real research. Whatever the motive, the effects are pernicious. We're encouraged to believe people because of who they are, rather than because of the evidence they present. And we're encouraged to believe the "truth" is a matter of opinion rather than the object of rational inquiry.

Comments

[The Pedant-General]

Chris,

Beg to differ re Worstall:

"This is also very odd indeed:

Let's go back to the question, Who do you believe? That's what really matters.

No love, it’s what you believe, not who."

Sorry.....

[Devil's Kitchen]

P-G,

I quoted Tim:

"As Timmy points out, one should actually ask oneself what one believes, not who."

However, I think that Chris was trying to make the point that, because journalists often take things on a blind faith in who is telling them this, that they assume that everyone else does too. I picked up and addressed this point:

http://devilskitchen.blogspot.com/2005/11/smack-on-wrist.html

DK

[Devil's Kitchen]

Tried to answer your comment, Chris, but Haloscan really doesn't like Trackbacking to you...

http://devilskitchen.blogspot.com/2005/11/mix-of-disciplines.html

DK