<p>Eugenia, the journalists don't always identify the people they interview as posters on the board -they use the board to make contact with the people. From their interviews, they learn more about the person and often identify them by other characteristics: "Shiela Jones, a real estate broker in New Jersey, whose daughter hopes to win admission to Princeton".... </p>
<p>and sometimes they retain anonymity: "one parent complained......" If the facts are objective, they will check them out -- if it is a report of a subjective experience, the quote may stand without any independent verification. Did Jack Jones, assistant Dean at Ivy University, really get an angry phone call from a helicopter parent complaining about a professor who gave his son a B? Or is the story somewhat blown out of proportion for the sake of the article about pushy parents -- the journalist may take the time to verify that Jack Jones really works for the university, but may never verify the details of the anecdote supplied -- or may happily run with the story with the line, "Mr. Pushy Parent could not be reached for comment."</p>
<p>I think you have a lot to learn about journalism and how it works. Journalists generally operate on very tight deadlines and they are expected to produce a lot in a short time -- so they work quickly. If they find someone with an appropriate title willing to give them a quote -- so much the better. If they make a mistake and someone points it out, the paper usually runs a correction in small print somewhere on an inner page of the paper .. and life goes on.</p>
<p>Thank you for your hospitality and I will certainly drop by and let you guys know how things are panning out for me. Thank you for the welcome and it's certainly a pleasure to join this e-community. Even though I'm about to enter one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life, it's good to know that other students are in the same position I'm in and are also perusing this messageboard as well. I'm very glad I stumbled across this website and I'll certainly be logging on more often as the process unfolds. Take care and a have a g'nite.</p>
<p>I see what you're saying and I guess I can see how journalists would use this site as a means of connecting with students and parents currently in the college admissions process. Thanks for the advice you gave above and I'll certainly keep it in mind as the process continues to unfold. It's good to see that this site has members like yourself who make thoughtful and helpful posts. The members above who basically got into a "e-tiff" (if you want to call it that) over the validity of an admissions consulting firm really turned me off at first. But I started exploring more threads (in the student's section) and I can definitely see how this messageboard can serve as both a resource and a means of relieving some of the anxiety and stress that results from this process. How this thread went on for 9 pages and managed to bash the same company is really amazing. I'm even a little ashamed of myself for contributing to length of this monstrocity and prolonging a discussion that should've ended sometime in June.</p>
<p>eulogia, we're a pretty good group and generally we are VERY supportive of the parents and their kids who are members of the CC community. You had the misfortune to come across one of the more heated threads right as you were dipping you toes in the water. Some topics are almost guaranteed to result in the electronic equivalent of a food fight (high-paid consultants, politics, the role of athletics in the admission process and affirmative action, to name a few). But other than that we're a pretty cool bunch, well, "cool" being a relative term. We're cool for a bunch of middle aged parents who are all, if truth be told, way too obsessed with our kids finding a great college match. Look around and join in -- put I would advise you to stay out of the Parents Cafe. I don't even go there, it's a rough part of town.</p>