IMDb's "News"Desk
July 22nd 2009 23:42
There are several reasons to dislike IMDb: the consistent errors, such as linking to the wrong name in news articles (is Hayden Panettiere really dating a 50 year-old cameraman?), use of character names as huge spoilers, or wrong dates/goofs despite several emails trying to correct them. But the worst is their godawful "News"Desk/WENN.
Way back when, I recall when there was actual movie-related NEWS in their NewsDesk, with actual, interesting, noteworthy content being published (for the skeptics, I'm only 28, so it hasn't been that long). Now, it's following a disturbingly tabloid template, reporting on random quotes from everyone from movie actresses who haven't worked in years (or dead ones quoted from a posthoumous biography), to the latest reality tv hopelessful.
This large amount of fail is compounded by the fact that their news articles re-use the same stock phrases ("slams", "has hit out at reports", "troubled star" "sparked fears") and over-exaggerate almost every facet of their "articles". A recent example cites Anna Faris, who's 32, and her "toyboy lover" Chris Pratt, who's 30. Or how about the fact that Emma Thompson is "desperate" (desperate, I tell you! DESPERATE! *can't* *breathe*) to star in "House, MD".
Worse still, is the fact that WENN/IMDb are owning up to the fact that most of their "news" items are in fact just dressed-up quotes collated from a recent magazine interview, usually with 3 or 4 separate quotes/items scattered throughout their daily news pickings. It's lazy journalism at its best. Or worst. I don't know. Ultimately they could clean up their sloppy writing/reporting habits and actually go back to posting specific, timely articles about things that are actually happening in the industry, or celebrity. Not just someone's random verbal free association ramblings.
So news items such as "[Charlize] Theron to Learn Spanish" or recent gems like "[Jerry] Hall finds young lovers 'creepy'" seem to fall flat on their asses as far as relevancy is concerned. I'm dreading the moment when WENN starts to feature two-page photo spreads of one of the Pitt-Jolie babies eating an ice cream or Suri Cruise's latest fashion disaster.
Way back when, I recall when there was actual movie-related NEWS in their NewsDesk, with actual, interesting, noteworthy content being published (for the skeptics, I'm only 28, so it hasn't been that long). Now, it's following a disturbingly tabloid template, reporting on random quotes from everyone from movie actresses who haven't worked in years (or dead ones quoted from a posthoumous biography), to the latest reality tv hope
This large amount of fail is compounded by the fact that their news articles re-use the same stock phrases ("slams", "has hit out at reports", "troubled star" "sparked fears") and over-exaggerate almost every facet of their "articles". A recent example cites Anna Faris, who's 32, and her "toyboy lover" Chris Pratt, who's 30. Or how about the fact that Emma Thompson is "desperate" (desperate, I tell you! DESPERATE! *can't* *breathe*) to star in "House, MD".
Worse still, is the fact that WENN/IMDb are owning up to the fact that most of their "news" items are in fact just dressed-up quotes collated from a recent magazine interview, usually with 3 or 4 separate quotes/items scattered throughout their daily news pickings. It's lazy journalism at its best. Or worst. I don't know. Ultimately they could clean up their sloppy writing/reporting habits and actually go back to posting specific, timely articles about things that are actually happening in the industry, or celebrity. Not just someone's random verbal free association ramblings.
So news items such as "[Charlize] Theron to Learn Spanish" or recent gems like "[Jerry] Hall finds young lovers 'creepy'" seem to fall flat on their asses as far as relevancy is concerned. I'm dreading the moment when WENN starts to feature two-page photo spreads of one of the Pitt-Jolie babies eating an ice cream or Suri Cruise's latest fashion disaster.
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