Quote:

Good people, I need your help.

I get lost in your eyes, I don't know why...

Whoops. Wrong window.

I am participating in a week long "Dust-Up" on the online OP/ED section of The Los Angeles Times.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-dustup-archive,0,4667134.htmlstory?coll=la-promo-opinion

By Monday morning, I have to prepare an essay of general interest for a family audience on this: "What is the difference between news and gossip? Is the distinction changing?"

Do you have any thoughts? May I quote you?

Here's some background on this duel to the death:

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=490

God bless you in all of your legitimate endeavors.






I saw this on your other site and I commented it on another thread, so I'm sure you saw it. If you're honestly asking then I'm glad you did. To my mind the difference between gossip and news is that gossip for the most part is pointless, inane and accomplishes nothing. Whereas actual news informs, but does so in fashion that allows the facts to apeak without commentary.

People are by their nature given to making judgments on their own, often without all of the facts that may pertain to a situation. And I understand that it is difficult occasionally to make a true judgement. In my experience even though I'm of Irish Protestant descent I looked at the situation in Northern Ireland during the 'troubles' not as religious division as much as it was a class division- alongside some pretty intensive historical conflicts between the Irish and the English. At first I thought the IRA were simply bastards, but as I learned more about them, and the protestant para-militaries my view eventually changed. Not into a supporter of the IRA but into seeing the inevitability of the Catholic/Protestant conflict there. with a hope that something better would come of all of it.
happily it seems that is has, the current peace in NI was however never considered a forgone conclusion.

If you're wondering what this has to do with anything, its this. I made it a priority to learn about the situation, not just from my family, but from other sources, books newspapers, articles magazines, and when the time came, the internet. But I made it a point to examine the what was actually happening, as opposed to what one side or the other claimed what was happening. and this is where I have some sympathy for you, you have chosen for whatever reason to work primarily in the an industry which can be a difficult business that often works a great deal on marketing the product with an often fluid mix of people. That all said, I still believe that for so that if one is going to be taken seriously as a reporter, blogger whatever that facts themselves , not opinions but the bare basic facts both good and bad must be presented in order for people to make an informed decision about an issue.

If a reporter cannot separate themselves from their own opinions they how can they no pass those same feelings onto their audience?

Anyways perhaps this helped



Edited by hyperion (07/20/07 07:03 PM)