Pack journalism

Pack journalism is the characterization of news reporting in which reporters from different news outlets collaborate to cover the same story, leaving news reporting homogenous. This is the practice whereby reporters use the same sources of information for their stories. This not only refers to print sources but people who provide quotes and information for stories too. When reporters need to cover a specific person for a story, these individuals will often move from place to place, and crowd together in masses at the scenes of newsworthy locations just for comments and/or quotes from individuals involved. While this is considered proper reporting, when reporters from several news outlets take the same steps to cover the same story, it leaves news virtually unvaried.

Overall, the occurrence of pack journalism is largely due to reporters' reliance on one another for news tips and use of one single source for their information (which could often even be the very subject they're covering). A "Group Think" occurs, as journalists are constantly aware of what others are reporting on, and an informal consensus emerges on what is newsworthy.

While pack journalism has had a presence in news reporting for quite some time, it initially gained meaning in political journalism surrounding the campaign of the 1972 Presidential Election. Since then, it has continued to become more prominent in reporting and more common for news organizations.

The term was first coined by Timothy Crouse in response to his observation during the 1972 Nixon and McGovern presidential election. The coverage of this particular campaign was deplored in depth by Crouse in his 1973 book The Boys on the Bus. Journalists were following candidates on the campaign trail as a group, often crowding together and spending time comparing notes. While the intent was to write unique stories for respective news organizations, journalists were working together so much, it became impossible for even the most self-reliant journalists to separate their notes from others. News organizations and media outlets were taking on the role of determining who the most popular candidate was amongst the public. Crouse noted what reporters knew well was not the American electorate but the much smaller community of the press plane. Crouse felt campaign journalism is what ultimately paved the road to pack journalism.

Modern pack journalism practices no longer require a physical proximity of campaign buses or shared press rooms. Journalists continue to conform to the pack from their computer screens just in monitoring and imitating other reporters online.

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Wikipedia