Journalese of the Day: The traditional July 4 Boston half-million

An old Boston media tradition is to report without question that “hundreds of thousands,” “half a million,” or even “one million” lined the banks of the Charles River for the July 4 concert of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Reports from last night’s concert had it “half a million,” as reported by WBZ (whose CBS TV station broadcast the event on TV). No reporter has ever violated the Boston rule that prohibits journalists from questioning the promoters’ crowd estimates. If they did, they might wonder how half a million people — that is, the equivalent of seven Gillette Stadiums’ full, or the entire adult population of Boston — could be packed into the area, get there for one evening’s show, and then manage to get home or to hotels. File under: Don’t let questions kill a story.

-Robert Skole