By now, it has become the most depressing of journalistic mainstays: The Southern Poverty Law Center releases its absurd annual "hate" report, and 60,000 third-rate MSM journalists dutifully and uncritically regurgitate the entire contents in the form of what was once known as a "news article".

The Hateful State: Pennsylvania has fifth most hate groups in the U.S.By Christian Alexandersen, PennLive.com, February 19, 2016

Pennsylvania, established as a haven for freedom, has become one of the most hate-filled states in the country due to the growing population of hate groups.

The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report that documents hate and anti-government groups operating in the United States. According to the report, there were 40 hate groups operating in Pennsylvania in 2015 — an increase from 38 in 2014. [More]

No context, no nuance, no questioning, no attempt to speak to anyone but Mark Potok or Heidi Beirich... you could almost set your watch to it.

Those who trained me in the ways of journalism had nothing but contempt for press release rewrites.

Can someone ask Christian Alexandersen, the author of this piece,  who trained him?