The State of Reporting Today

1.The news: Doomsayers Say Benedict Fits World End Prophecy

2. The research:" 'His reign will only last a few years at most. This signals that we are living in what may be the end of days as we know it,' said one Web Site entry by someone calling himself SmartBob."

3. The intellectually rigorous analysis: "The prophecy -- widely dismissed by scholars as a hoax -- is attributed to..." Yeah, that makes it all better.

I have a suggestion for Reuters. How about you change the headline to, "First Article Ever Written Without Speaking to a Single Person"?

If I knew all it took to write a wire service article was cobble together a bunch of quotes from people posting with fake names on different web sites, I would have become a reporter long ago. Heck, I am a reporter. I'm putting it on my resume. Have you ever posted a comment on Pancake City? You're a source! I hope you don't mind if I use you in my next article, "People on Web Page Comment on Shit".

And as for the doomsday people: how about this. We'll make a deal with you. Gather together and agree on one day, any day you want, for the doomsday to occur. Heck, pick a week. It's cool. But if that time passes and the four horsemen are still in the stable, then you have to shut the f--- up forever. Forever ever? Yes. I thought that was the deal in 2000, but here we are again.