Term coined by author Nick Davies to describe poor practices of modern day journalists who "churn" or recycle news stories off the wire or internet without appropriate critical investigation.
Where once journalists were seen travelling out and about in the search for facts, a large majority are now, literally, chained to their desks waiting for the next major scoop; eager to be the first to report on the topic and thus draw traffic to their news sites... this is churnalism.
by Kimberly Lester April 22, 2008