MSNBC is Nuts

So I was reading MSNBC's top 10 best airports in the world and I almost choked on my water when I scrolled down to find T6 at JFK made the list. WHAT THE F!!!!! Here's what they say about it.

Quote:

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6. John F. Kennedy International Airport
This airport makes our list for one reason: JetBlue's Terminal 6. Besides having a dedicated online bag-drop counter (allowing you to check in for your flight online and still check your bags on arrival), the terminal also boasts a full-service Oasis Day Spa where you can get a pre- or post-flight manicure, facial, or massage. You can also let the kids blow off some pre-flight steam in the children's play area (your fellow passengers will thank you) or grab some made-to-order sushi at Deep Blue (just one of the many on-site restaurants) while taking in the sounds of one of the live bands that occasionally serenade terminal passengers. One caveat: While Terminal 6 is widely regarded as the best of all three New York airports, you'll need your own JetBlue boarding pass to see what the fuss is about.

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This is total crap, total crap. T6 is a dump inside and out, the climate control never works, it’s always hot as hell, it’s poorly lit, the waiting areas haven't been cleaned since B6 said they were building a new terminal. Then you have the remote gates which are a total $hit box. Forget if you are leaving from gate 18 because you'll freeze your a$$ off whenever people enter and leave the building. I'm totally shocked that this was the reason JFK is in the top ten. T4 is head over heels better then T6 and no mention of it what so ever. The reporter of this story needs to travel a bit more. What crap....
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AA's new JFK terminal should have been number 1.

*flame me flame me!* :)

Eeh, the AA Terminal is nothing special. I don't see the whole bit about checking in online and still checking bags - even Southwest lets you do that. My personal favourite is T4 - the airlines that serve the building make for one of the greatest assemblages of people you'll find anywhere.

I understand that Jetblue has a rather aggressive public relations effort that actively lobbies the media for such references and accolades, so this does not surprise me. The wording of the text actually sounds more like a B6 press release than the observations of a serious travel journalist.

This is what we in the online news business call a sticky story. Readers love lists...put "Top 10 [insert anything here]" in a story title and people will click on it like crazy. And even if the content is crap, they'll share it with their friends and on message boards to debate the merits of the list just like you did (though you didn't include the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16269887 ). If we could get away with putting "sex" and "viagra" in as many stories as possible, we would. Since we can't, Top 10 lists are the next best thing.

In MSNBC's defense, in the first paragraph they make it clear that the list is purely about the most amazing stuff you'll find in airports, not about traveling convenience or anything practical.

To their discredit, this story wasn't written by journalists at all, but by a travel advertising website called ShermansTravel.com that MSNBC seems to have a partnership with (read: $$$). Unfortunately they don't make that very clear and most readers will not realize that it was written by someone who has a direct stake in the subject being written about. Sherman's claims to be objective, but the ethics standards of a website like that and those of an elite news organization are likely much different.