In today’s Chicago Tribune is a column by Charles Madigan who complains that people (right wing people) hate journalists. That’ bad ol bloggers like me (and maybe you) live parasitically off the reportage of “Journalists”. I beg to differ Mr. Madigan. You don’t make up events. You report them. You live parasitically off events. Where you get into trouble is when you report these events with your own spin.
Let me help you understand this concept.
A dog chased a rabbit across my yard yesterday afternoon. It did not catch it.
ThatÂ’s reporting. The event drives the report. How well you describe the event is journalism.
I saw a flash. A little flash and then a bigger one. The yelp caught me off guard. Rusty, the neighborÂ’s German Shepherd, was in hot pursuit of prey. A bunny rabbit. The little frightened rabbit wove left and then right and with a hop hip-hop disappeared into the weed patch. Rusty sniffed around and soon gave up.
ThatÂ’s better journalism. Word Pictures. Imagery. Descriptive language.
But, thatÂ’s not the journalism that Madigan is defending.
His kind of journalism would say:
Darwin is alive and well. Survival of the fittest prevailed once again. WhereÂ’s your intelligent design in this story? Our neighbor lets his dog run wild. I shouldnÂ’t be surprised. HeÂ’s a republican. Yesterday he trespassed on my yard again for the fifth time. This mongrel was in full pursuit of an innocent wild rabbit. The barking interrupted my reading. I have always felt the underdog had a chance. Soon the aggressive barking dog was bested by superior craft as the rabbit hid in a native planting area we keep as our effort to be environmentally correct. The stupid dog gave up soon. I called the cops and hope they do something about owners who let their dogs run wild. We need better laws. Call your alderman.
ThatÂ’s opinion Journalism. Nothing wrong with the story, except it now has a viewpoint and means itÂ’s fair game to those who take a pot shot at it. And I will. Your opinion and perspective on the event is yours and YOU are subject to being questioned and criticized when you engage in that kind of journalism.
Yellow Journalism (which deserves no quarter) would be:
George Bush has a dog. IÂ’ll bet itÂ’s like the badly behaved dog of the right wing nutcases next door. That stinking mongrel probably is the one who dumps on my lawn all the time. In any case for the 5th time I caught him chasing across my lawn. He was doing what all unfettered wild animals do, chasing a poor defenseless rabbit. We have laws and while the right wing is quick to point out those laws to us when it fits their needs, when their dogs or secretary of defense chase rabbits in Iraq we are supposed to ignore them. What did that rabbit ever do to my neighbors, what did Iraq ever do to us? Yet the dog gave up trying to find the rabbit like we gave up trying to find WMDÂ’s. HeÂ’ll be back. He occupies my lawn like Bush occupies Iraq. HeÂ’s just like that Dog, in fact he is a dog.
So, Mr Madigan. What journalism are you defending? You donÂ’t cause the events you report on. How you report on them is the question.
I have one more piece of news. We like opinion. We like colorful reporting. Just donÂ’t get high and mighty about it. I used to own a news organization (Radio). When I told our news director that his reporting of the news existed to sell advertising he had a fit. But it does. If no one reads you, no ads. So report away, just donÂ’t get all haughty about who or what you are. YouÂ’re a beat reporter with an opinion. That's all.
I posted this column here too for those who don't yet have a free subscription to the Chicago Tribune. You should, it's painless.
UPDATE:
I recieved a nice email from Mr Madigan to whom I had forwarded this link. He is the editor in chief of the Chicago Tribune ( I think). The nicest thing he said was that you and I as bloggers are into something very interesting indeed. I agree. But for those who read this who write for news organizations, don't give up. I confessed to Mr. Madigan (who calls himself Charlie) that I knew nothing about journalism except as a consumer. I guess consumin makes us all experts, right???
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