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| This picture was chosen random but, in journalism, the choice of photographs can affect how you perceive the story. As an example, an unflattering picture of a person may cause you not to like the person and to see the person in a negative light because people are very influenced by physical appearance. |
Dear Reader,
I will readily admit that the only time that I write in the second person is when I am writing a letter. Generally, I don’t ever mention you. I am not the type of writer that the late Christa Wolf (1929-2011) was. For sure, I don’t have her writing skills so I am not sure that I could carry off an entire novel written in the second person. The German writer, who was one of the few famous writers from the former East Germany, wrote several books in the second person, including Patterns of Childhood. I felt drawn in by her writing because I felt as if she were talking to me and only to me.
And speaking of me, when I am writing newspaper articles, I also don’t mention me. Journalism is supposed to be “objective,” and the me and the you have no place in journalism. They are too personal, and journalism is about the impersonal, not the personal. Hence, we delete me and you from existence in the world of journalism.
Although I have done a good deal of journalism and even have a master’s (monster’s?) degree in journalism, I have my doubts about the entire concept of objectivity. We are humans, after all. We see the world through our own experiences, our personalities, our education, our personal stories. How is it possible to shed all of that and take on the burden of total objectivity?
Even the selection of events worthy to be reported on in the newspaper or on television indicates a level of bias. It is a decision made by editors and reporters and producers. Today, I look at The Buffalo News and The New York Times, as they cover events in Baltimore. Here are the headlines that I see:
- How social media spun a protest into a riot (this was reprinted in The Buffalo News, and was originally published in the Washington Post)
- Troops and Citizens Fill the Streets of Baltimore (The New York Times)
- Riots Another Scar on a City Battered by Neglect (The New York Times)
- Troops clamp lid on Baltimore violence (this is in The Buffalo News, a reprint of Troops and Citizens Fill the Streets of Baltimore)
As writers, even for the news media, we are not objective. You are very correct in that. It's impossible to completely shut off our own bias. The average reader believes that the news media is unbiased when writing, or hopes that anyway and seeing I, me, you, etc. would remove that feeling of nonobjectiveness.
Interesting post I must say. You really wrote intelligence here. Well, i think You and Me can be incorporated little here and there if it goes well with the news I am covering. Can't be sure tho, not an expert.
but thanks for the post. informative 🙂
Stopping by from the #atozchallenge 2015! Don't forget our after party. The Reflections Linky List will open on Monday May 4th.
Great post. That would be interesting if stories were more related, and less "other people" and thus the problems of "other people." Which, I imagine, is difficult for politicians to deal with, as they need to get people to feel the urge to go vote, so stories about "other people" probably don't help. More so with news, where "other people" are usually breaking laws or doing other bad things. (Except maybe in the Sports section.)
J @JLenniDorner