Using dictionaries doesn't help in cases like these. (Gaming)

by Funkmon , Thursday, June 02, 2016, 08:39 (3103 days ago) @ cheapLEY
edited by Funkmon, Thursday, June 02, 2016, 08:45

Most dictionaries are descriptive, which means definitions can and do include things that are definitely false, but have been used before in shorthand, metaphor, or simply sloppy speech. In journalism, people are often referencing the specific academic study of journalism, and the nature of reporting on news in a way consistent with the philosophy of journalism. We're not talking about the basic reporting of news definition, and you know it.

Here's an example of another word's definition from American Heritage 5th edition.

shell  (shĕl)
Share:  
n.
1.
a. The usually hard outer covering that encases certain organisms, such as insects, turtles, and most mollusks.
b. A similar outer covering on a nut or seed.
c. A similar outer covering on certain eggs, such as those of birds and reptiles; an eggshell.
d. The material that constitutes such a covering.
2. Something resembling or having the form of a shell, especially:
a. An external, usually hard, protective or enclosing case or cover.
b. A framework or exterior, as of a building.
c. A thin layer of pastry.
d. The external part of the ear.
3. Nautical
a. The hull of a ship.
b. A light, long, narrow racing boat propelled by rowers.
4. A small glass for beer.
5.
a. An artillery projectile containing an explosive charge.
b. A metal or cardboard case containing the charge and primer for a piece of firearms ammunition, especially one also containing shot and fired from a shotgun.
6. An attitude or a manner adopted to mask one's true feelings or to protect one from perceived or real danger: Embarrassed, she withdrew into a shell.
7. Physics
a. A set of electron orbitals having nearly the same energy and sharing the same first quantum number.
b. Any of the stable states of other particles or collections of particles (such as the nucleons in an atomic nucleus) at a given energy or small range of energies.
8.
a. A usually sleeveless and collarless, typically knit blouse.
b. A thin, usually waterproof or windproof outer garment for the upper body.
9. Computers A program that works with the operating system as a command processor, used to enter commands and initiate their execution.
10. A company or corporation created by a second company or corporation for the purposes of facilitating a particular transaction, especially one that is intended to be concealed.
v. shelled, shell·ing, shells
v.tr.
1.
a. To remove the shell of; shuck: shell oysters.
b. To remove from a shell: shell peas.
2. To separate the kernels of (corn) from the cob.
3. To fire shells at; bombard.
4.
a. To defeat decisively.
b. Baseball To hit the pitches of (a pitcher) hard and with regularity: shelled the pitcher for eight runs in the first inning.
v.intr.
1. To shed or become free of a shell.
2. To look for or collect shells, as on a seashore: spent the day shelling on Cape Cod.
Phrasal Verb:
shell out Informal
To hand over; pay: had to shell out $500 in car repairs.
[Middle English, from Old English scell; see skel-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Look at that, your ear is a shell and so is your blouse! TIL. Except they're not. Shell has a particular definition in particular cases. In talking about wars, we're referring to artillery. In much the same way, distinguishing press release regurgitation from journalism, we're talking about a particular definition of journalism, and throwing a dictionary, unsourced and merely showing all definitions encountered by the editors, out there isn't helpful.

I think Cody's absurdly wrong here. I think he is so wrong I literally don't believe him and I posit that he's actually lying about his opinion. However, using a dictionary definition lends absolutely nothing to an argument's side unless it's literally an argument about linguistic semantics (eg. "Is it grammatical to use journalism to refer to the news industry at large in some cases?"). It's just completely inapplicable.