I don't disagree but it doesn't matter in this case. In fact, this is _precisely_ why (especially local) newspapers targeted "5th grade level" vocab and syntax, or lower. It's been the unofficial standard since long before the study cited.

It's the same for math and science. Most Americans aren't capable of anything beyond a 6th grade level. The lack of literacy and numeracy in this country explains a lot about where we are today.

I'd recommend familiarizing yourself with non profit trade groups, as they're generally full of people with very tight butts about journalistic integrity and fewer advertisers/grant committees to please.

Honestly though the goal is to get a good lay of the land for both how a story goes from whiteboard/notebook brainstorm to print, and the general shape of the industry.

Small but impactful example: headlines are often written by a different person than the article. This leads to a lot of conflict, which is healthy in terms of producing quality journalism, but potentially confusing for the consumer who may not understand why.

The main goals would be

- Understand the roles of reporters (gathering), editors (verification), managing editors (suits), publishers (sugar daddies) and their roles for a single given piece, and within the org at large

- Media conglomerates disproportionately dominate local news. It's not just Fox and CNN or the NYT/WaPo, and the impact is far more damaging than the more obvious corporate influence).

These days I tend to stay away from the news for the most part, in an attempt to retain sanity. You don't need 24 hours of news. I read up for about 2-3 hours a week and feel more informed than ever.

Here are a few resources who probably can get you set in a better direction than I would:

Columbia journalism review Nieman lab Poytner institute