Meanings
- derogatorysometimesuncountablejournalismA style of mainstream journalism characterized by superficiality, predictability and the lack of in-depth reporting, most commonly applied to increase profits and appeal to a wide readership.
The result is a reader-friendly McJournalism, with material in nuggets, created not out of any misplaced notion that the reader is stupid and needs spoon-feeding, but out of awareness of the reader’s severe time limitations and respect for her ability to choose what and how much she needs.
1995, Marshall Cook, Leads and Conclusions (Elements of Article Writing), Cincinnnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, →ISBN, pages 93–941 more example
The Inquirer finds itself out there in the real world, with a far broader mix of readers. The readers it wants to grab now, in its post-Alpha era, are the middle-brow, middle-class, highly transient denizens of the outer suburbs. They seem more likely candidates for the McJournalism of USA Today than for an Inquirer committed to taking new strides toward seriousness and solidity.
1983 April, Paul Taylor, “Gene Roberts: Down-Home Editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer”, in Washington Journalism Review, volume 5, number 3, →ISSN, page 41
Origin
From Mc- + journalism, by association with the McDonald's fast food chain.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
McJournalism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/McJournalism
“McJournalism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/McJournalism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “McJournalism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/McJournalism.
Source: McJournalism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.