“Me”, “I”, And Journalism

1:36 am EST May 24th, 2009 | Media | 5 Comments

Reading this NY Times ombudsman column about mistakes on behalf of 3 NY Times writers I’m reminded of something. I think part of the failure of journalism in the last decade or so can be traced to writers inserting themselves into their stories. I remember first noticing this personally in articles written in Wired in the early 2000s but I’m sure there are numerous examples before that. Journalism has become too often an exercise in biography, with writers trying to pass of their personal stories as examples of what people are going through when in fact the life of the average journalism writer bears little to no resemblance to that of the average reader.

Also, the narcissism.

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5 Responses to ““Me”, “I”, And Journalism”

  1. jr says:
    May 24, 2009 at 5:14 am

    David Broder “understands us” when he gets 20k speaking fees

  2. White Whale says:
    May 24, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    Talked to a press manager for a senator, and she concured…the narcissism is out of control among the press. They are more like reality show contestants looking to make the footage reel than doing thier job by the books.

  3. Thad says:
    May 24, 2009 at 6:09 pm

    I think Hunter S Thompson did some great work. Gonzo journalism definitely has its place. But I would agree that it shouldn’t replace oldschool, objective journalism, and that most of the guys doing it now are narcissistic hacks.

  4. boilerman10 says:
    May 25, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    Thad beat me to it.

    Inserting one’s self into journo work is high Hunter S. Thompson.

    However, Gonzo was stunned by the foibles of people and the duplicity of power. Journos like “Sprinkles” Sidoti, or Judy Miller, or Michael Gordon, or Tom Ricks are tools.

    Further, Arn’t we seeing a rise in editorialism in journalism? Robert Fisk strikes me as an example of this. Dahr Jamail and Ali al Fadily, and wandering reporters like Pepe Escobar, or to a far lesser extent, even Syed Saleem Shahzad are known to insert themselves as observers/onlookers to an unfolding story.

    BUT, I will take Pepe Escobar making a caustic wisecrack, or Dahr Jamail describing the thwip of a bullet passing close overhead to the rah-rah/ “I’m in the cool club” bull pucky of a Gordon/Sidoti/Miller anyday.

  5. johnnymags says:
    May 26, 2009 at 8:53 am

    I was always told to use 3rd person, when writing unless it was a personal viewpoint. Then again the “look at me” generation can’t get beyond the concept that the rest of us couldn’t give a fig. Facts are stubborn things and will wear out the Narcissistic rants bouncing around the Echo chamber.