pitchfork is dumb (#34985859340293849494 in a series.)

In morrisp's defense, surely we can at least acknowledge that the word 'alleged' is a loaded one. Obviously it's a semantic issue (and I agree it's correct if we're gonna be all Strunk & White about it), but in casual conversation, if I asked roommate #1 if roommate #2 has done the dishes as per the chore wheel, and she replies "allegedly," I understand that the word is being deployed in this instance to sarcastically cast a certain amount of doubt about whether or not roommate #2 did in fact do the dishes, or whether he had done the dishes in a way that would now allow us to eat off of them, and I might go into the kitchen to see for myself

Well, sure, but a conversation isn't reporting.

I’m open to being wrong, but nobody has made an argument beyond just saying that I am wrong.

here is how the argument breaks down: legally speaking, until someone has been convicted in a court of law, a media outlet cannot call them a criminal or assert outright that they committed a crime. To do is both factually inaccurate (the definition of being a criminal is having been convicted of a crime) and slanderous, opening the media outlet to legal liability. Therefore, any time a journalist is reporting on possible criminal activity, the charges are referred to as allegations or accusations (which is how they would be referred to in a court of law), until the point they are proven in court.

whether or not what pfork does should be considered journalism is a different point.

But she has not accused anyone of a crime. And Pitchfork is not reporting on a crime — just Duffy’s post, in which the (“alleged”) assault is mentioned in half a sentence, and does not contain enough details to (I would think) even rise to the level of an “allegation.” It’s not a “he said/she said”; it’s a “she glancingly mentions.”

To use sic’s proposed headline —

Duffy Returns To Public Life, Alleges Horrific Assault

— are you saying that if the headline was “Duffy Returns to Public Life, Says She Was Victim of Horrific Assault” (which I like better), journalistic malpractice is being committed?

If she had said that someone specific assaulted her (or even provided enough information that someone could possibly be identified from her post), then I agree reporters would need to be cautious about how they report on it.

for journalists, this is not even a choice you make, it just *is* ... i can see how non-journos might not understand it

Inspired by the now-classic feminist blockbuster Thelma & Louise, the a cappella story-song details a version of Amos’ own violent rape at 21.

Is this sentence bad journalism because it omits 'alleged'?

is that from the news section

Here's a sprinkling of other headlines I found in a quick search, all apparently from legit journalistic sources:

"Pop star Duffy says she withdrew from public spotlight after being..." (Washington Post)
"Singer Duffy says she was..." (ABC Denver
"Singer Duffy says she retreated from the spotlight after being..." (CNN)
"U.K. singer Duffy breaks silence, says she left spotlight after being..." (NBC News)
"Singer Duffy says (...) led to her public retreat" (Minn. Star Tribune)

It's from the "Longform" section, which perhaps doesn't have the same standards as the press release section

as someone who studied journalism and writes longform essays i would encourage you to not confuse them with journalism

morris, I'm sorry but this is a stupid argument

in those other headlines you note the words "Duffy... says" are performing the same function as the term "alleged"

Against Allegedly

Yes, I'm the one arguing that saying "says" is fine/ preferred! And the editors of all those headlines seem to agree.

(xp)

I don't think those other headlines are bad
but I don't think the Pitchfork headline is bad either
every editor has their discretion, but nothing I've seen here is beyond the pale or out of bounds

fcc -- thanx for posting that link... it gets to exactly what I'm talking about.

take it to the "words you never want to see again" thread

I dislike "allegedly" because it's one word too easily removed accidentally from editing whereas X "was charged with negligent homicide for what police say was letting his son run across a busy intersection" is harder.

Look, while we’re all arguing about this, we’re missing the important news that The Men Want You to Pair Their New LP With a High ABV.

https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-tom-steyer-and-juvenile-perform-back-that-azz-up/
I don’t hold it against Pitchfork for reporting on this but I hold it against reality for allowing this to exist

At the risk of bringing up the dead horse for another round of kicking, but I'm not sure why both Grimes and Caribou got 8.2 ratings, though only the former got the BNM tag. Name recognition?

every question about pitchfork can be answered with the words 'brand positioning'

Whose record label paid for it?

they've been weirdly stingy with bnms recently.

Beatrice Dillon was the one previous to Grimes I think. Plus Jeff Parker, Blood Incantation, Davido....can’t remember other recent ones.

Destroyer, Gil-Scott Heron

They've had 5 so far this year, only 3 going into March last year.

every question about pitchfork can be answered with the words 'brand positioning'

― strangely hookworm but they manage ream shoegaze poetry (imago)

about life too

Best New Music isn't just about attaining a particular decimal score. If it were, there would be no need for a separate designation at all.

Oh, here we go:

How does Pitchfork's Best New Music system work? I've read reviews where two albums get a score of say 8.2, but one is BNM and the other isn't. --Aurora Nuncio

The truth of it is breathtakingly simple: Editors choose Best New Music albums based on the records that we think are the cream of the crop. These are excellent records that we feel transcend their scene and genre. When an album gets Best New Music, we think there's a very good chance that someone who doesn't generally follow this specific sphere of music will find a lot to enjoy in it.

(From a short-lived revival of the reader mailbag in 2012. It appears to have lasted four installments.)

alternately, if it pairs well with a particularly hoppy IPA, it's in

I'm sure ppl who hate metal would still get something out of, er...Blood Incantation?

Funny how that 2012 query also involved two 8.2 ratings

well, there are plenty of 8.0s and 8.1s that don't get BNM and very few 8.3s and above that don't, but 8.2 seems like it can go either way

I think the explanation for BNM makes perfect sense, but it just highlights how janky their rating system is.

they should add another decimal imo

it seems like they're just trying to re-introduce a qualitative aspect to a very quantitative rating system

 These are excellent records that we feel transcend their scene and genre. 

I hate this line of thinking, just offensive to me

the best music transcends all scenes and genres dontchaknow

i also think it sucks but whatryagonnado

Back when I used to write for P4K there was also a sense that BNM selections needed broader editor/staff momentum behind them. “Transcends genre” is probably code for “a broad swathe of writers as well as the editors listened to and rate this.”

If I wanted to give a 8.0+ score to a techno album that barely any other writers would be inclined to check out, there would usually not be too much pushback or eyebrow-raising re the score I proposed (perhaps on the basis that barely any readers would notice - different if we were talking about an album from a well-known pop star) but the prospects of getting a BNM were very limited. Other than that he’d days readers are much less precious about what sort of music Pitchfork can endorse, I imagine things have not changed that much in the past half decade.

Though that said Caribou is exactly the sort of artist you’d expect to be BNM’d so it might just be a question of timing.

They're using the red breaking news chyron for album releases now, huh? Or have I just missed this before?

surprise releases, maybe

Yeah I guess maybe that makes sense, just typically used to seeing it for a death or arrest or something. For a second I thought Lil Uzi Vert had died.

The new Caribou record is amazing, “Our Love” was stinky-poo but they gave it a 9 or something,

really enjoyed 'new jade' and the album closer

(Retroactive) 10 for Björk’s Post! Wow

Deserved.