I don’t use Facebook or MySpace or Twitter. I agree with Henry David Thoreau’s century and a half old assertion that most media deal with gossip. Like Blogs, these sites are primarily self-serving. As journalists we need to be aware of them. However, caveat emptor.
What follows are a few tips for writers courtesy of Henry David Thoreau:
"A writer who does not speak out of a full experience uses torpid words, wooden or lifeless words… which have a paralysis in their tails." (from the Journal July 14, 1852)
"Perfect sincerity and transparency make a great part of beauty, as in dewdrops, lakes, and diamonds." (from the Journal June 20, 1840)
"Say what you have to say, not what you ought. Any truth is better than make-believe."
(from the "Conclusion" to Walden)
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." (from the "Conclusion" to Walden)
Here’s what Oscar Wilde had to say about journalists and journalism:
“Bad manners make a journalist.”
“Journalists record only what happens. What does it matter what happens? It is only the abiding things that are interesting, not the horrid incidents of everyday life.”
“There is much to be said in favor of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.”
“Spies are of no use nowadays…The newspapers do their work instead.”
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“Aristotle wrote that ethics includes not only doing the right thing but also telling the truth and telling your story for the betterment of the community, said David Rosman in his Missourian’ article “Journalist need Truth.” Of course, journalist should be conscious of blogs but reporting the truth should be their main concern. As Rosman said, “seek the truth and tell the story better than other journalists.”
ReplyDeleteHowever, today “newspapers are losing subscribers, it’s a tricky thing, you have to sell papers,” points out actor George Clooney. As the son of a journalist, Clooney grew up around the news. Although he is sympathetic to journalists, he finds the main problem today especially with the media’s obsession with celebrity, is that they just reprint a story that may not be true. “It used to be two reliable sources and that doesn’t seem to exist anymore,” Clooney explained, “I understand why it happens but it certainly is an issue.” Unfortunately, reporting the truth may not be as important as selling newspapers. Headlines catch your eye and sensationalism sells.
“As a journalist, reporter or commentator, the truth is something that is easily discernible or hidden in the depths of murky waters,” comments David Rosman. Honored journalist Bill Moyers, recipient of the Courage Prize in Washington, DC at the fifth annual Ridenhour Awards ceremony, further observed, “The job of trying to tell the truth about people whose job it is to hide the truth is almost as difficult as trying to hide it in the first place. We journalists are of course obliged to cover the news, but our deeper mission is to uncover the news that powerful people would prefer to keep hidden.”
Oscar Wilde was reportedly ridiculed in a cartoon appearing in The Wasp, a San Francisco newspaper. Naturally, this unpleasant personal experience may have influenced his opinion of journalist, their “bad manners,” and their reporting of the “horrid incidents of everyday life,” even in his day. Henry David Thoreau, in his final essay, ‘Life Without Principle,’ attacked his “contemporaries’ fascination with news and gossips and explains how individuals must resist conformity in the search for truth.” He warned, “Working for money alone will never bring happiness.”