The Wall Street Journal gets it
This week, the Wall Street Journal published a style note. I encourage you to all read it, but in case you're pressed for time, I'll share some of the salient points. (Given that you've read the title, it might not come as a shock that I'm tempted to just quote the entire thing.)
"'Millennials' has become a sort of snide shorthand in the pages of The Wall Street Journal. ... What we usually mean is young people, so we probably should just say that. Many of the habits and attributes of millennials are common for people in their 20s, with or without a snotty term."
"Let's also be precise when referring to this group and resist the temptation to use stereotypes, apply a blanket label or let the term become a crutch in our stories. Occasionally, we’ve referred to millennials when we really meant teenagers."
Here's two points especially relevant to those of us in the news industry: "Millennials are an important group of WSJ readers ... We risk alienating them if we write about them with such disdain." "The oldest millennials are approaching 40 and the youngest are seniors in high school. Such explanations are worth including in articles that are centered on millennials."
The BBC took the WSJ's ball and ran with it. Bryan Lufkin wondered aloud if it's time to "start fresh with a name that's less tarnished."
If this all sounds familiar, it might be because you read my take on the situation two years ago. But I don't bring this up to pat myself on the back. (Although I will: I love you Justin, <3 <3 xoxo)
The anti-millennial thinkpieces may be growing in number, but they are overwhelmed by the sheer bulk of sloppy journalism centred around little more than a stereotype. (Here's something I noticed that I didn't squeeze into my last piece on the subject: If an article uses the word millennial more than three times, it's probably pretty bad. There's no reason to rely on such a "crutch," to borrow the WSJ's term, if you have anything of substance to say.)
Just this week the Globe and Mail published a piece that said millennials "prefer snacking and choice to big meals" (uhh, we do?) as in the case of a dining establishment that sells juice for $9.
There's a lot we're supposed to be outraged these days. I'm not trying to stoke any fires. I'm just saying society at large should know better than to perpetuate this type of lazy stereotyping, and I'm damn sure the news industry ought to be better than that.
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