Blog
There are always winners and losers in a story. Any story. Just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Along those lines, someone brought up a thought provoking point to me earlier today (Jan. 24), expressing that this blog is essentially an unprofessional tool of my trade (which is at this point more like an apprenticeship). They asked me how I could write objectively write about a story in one part of the website, and then use absurdity and mockery to express a strong opinion on the same subject in another part of the site.
No, this person was not a shopping cart attendant.
I felt like telling them, “very carefully.” But they had a valid argument.
I don’t know how we keep it separate, and keep it objective. I know I take pride in keeping the facts straight, presenting all the sides, and letting the reader make their own judgment on a news story.
Sometimes the facts are ugly. Sometime’s people look ugly because that’s the part their actions or words have allowed you to see. Sometimes, a spade is a spade.
I call them like I see them. I call them as they’ve been presented to me.
A blog isn’t all that different. I’ll admit there is less emphasis on giving people the benefit of the doubt, especially if I personally think they don’t deserve it – doesn’t mean it is not the truth.
I think in the blogs, reporters, at least the way I approach it, put a lot more on the line than they do in a news story. While news might be controversial, we can find refuge in “objectivity.” In a blog, we are leaving are chins wide-open, and we are the only ones accountable for what we put down.
And just like a news story, people can comment and voice their views to me, agree or disagree, and take me to task if they have to.
Blogs provide an exercise in objectivity, while they may not be objective. There would be no point to reading a story and then reading a blog that says the same thing, presented the exact same way. Blogs, just like news, are meant to make people make a choice. If I wrote a blog, passed it off as objective, but it was false, than that is wrong and unprofessional. But if I present my opinion, and make that abundantly clear, and make a reader make a choice – than I think that is being responsible and smart, if not objective.
Tags: blog, shopping cart, exercise in objectivity
January 25th, 2007 at 9:23 am
We’re all feeling our way through the new age, and blogging is a part of that for a lot of us. As a fiction writer with a blog of my own, it’s always a challenge to know just how much of my daily life to write about. You reveal too much, you turn off some readers, but on the other hand, die-hard fans love a personal touch. It’s a constant, daily judgment call on where to draw the line. I’ve seen some authors post gripes about their publishers, and get into serious hot water with them for it. One posted about a book she was judging in a contest, and got her hand slapped by the contest’s organizers, even though she didn’t name the book. And forget about posting anything concerning family. How do standup comedians keep from being murdered in their sleep?
I imagine it must be very tough for journalists. But as a reader, I really enjoy the blogs. I read the news stories and know they’re objective and non-biased, but sometimes I’m just dying to know what the reporter really thinks. In the blog, I can find out.
And I would hope anyone smart enough to read a newspaper is also smart enough to know what they’re reading.
Stories: objective and unbiased
Blogs: Honest personal opinions (that do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this paper, its owners, staff or advertisers.) =)
Simple.
I still haven’t figured out where the poetry fits in, but that’s probably a blog in itself.
January 25th, 2007 at 9:54 am
I think the whole point of a blog is to express your opinion. Just because you’re a reporter doesn’t mean that you should have to be completly neutral on every topic. That’s not a reasonable requirement.
If people don’t care about our opinions, they don’t have to read our blogs. Personally, I think they can be an excellent tool for getting discussions started. Just like with editorials, columns and our weekly debates, it is understood that the views expressed in the blogs are opinions and not facts. People are free to comment on the blogs or argue their opinion if they have a different view.