I had an editor at a newspaper who told us never the use the word “expert” in a headline “because one man’s expert is another man’s assh***.” That was then and this is now . . . we live in a world filled with "experts."
I was lucky in that first full-time job at a local paper. My first editor told me to forget writing for the sports desk and instead work as a general assignment reporter for a bit, and if I decided to head to sports later, then that was fine, but writing about sports, he said, didn’t make me a news guy, which he felt was the base for any journalistic endeavors later. He was right, as a reporter and feature writer I was able to
The newspaper industry is dying a slow torturous death as we turn to online news sources. The editorial and op-ed pages was where the opinions were printed. Now, people don’t get the difference between news shows and “pundit” shows. Bill O’Reilly is not a news person. Neither is Rachael Maddow. You may like ‘em, but they’re not giving you the news, they are giving you commentary.
The world has changed, we think something, Tweet it and it’s around the world to all our followers in a flash. We share our thoughts and lives on Facebook and all that is out there, where that is, forever. Now even your neighbor is an “expert” on whatever because he saw it on the web. Yikes.
Put on your “news” filters, folks, because if you’re getting your “news” from one place, then you’re probably mis-informed. We used to read at least eight or 10 papers a day. Of course we didn’t have to pay for them and they were all delivered to the news desk, but the point is that we actually read. Not glimpsed or skimmed . . . actually read. That seems to be too much work for people now. We surrounded by more news and media outlets than ever . . . but we still take those one-time internet posts and pass them around from place to place until they seem real and truthful. A while later they circulate again . . . they seem even more real and truthful then.
Let’s remember to take step back filter what you read and then take a few minutes to fact-check. Because along with all those news and media outlets are dozens of easy to access sites that debunk rumors and untruths, or help you give you the cold facts on information you’re digesting.
We vote for a President in a year. It’s worth the small effort to check those claims, charges and statements from those who would be President. You may not get much ink on your fingers in this digital age, but there’s no excuse for not getting the news you want if you want it.
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