My story about big cat owners is out online today and in print on Monday.
I’m going to get eviscerated from both sides on this one. I hope my next assignment is about the deliciousness of cupcakes.
Click here to see and comment on my “professional” site. This is my personal site. I am not responsible for anything I say here.
1 response so far ↓
Tom // April 29, 2007 at 8:13 am |
You really could have written a much better story about animal ownership. Accuracy suffers tremendously when you write about one side and include comments that say that the one side is all that there is. The much larger side of ownership is millions of happy and well cared for animals and humans who are glad to live with them.
The rules of journalism, written and unwritten, do not change just because you are writing about a hot-button topic. Journalistic integrity becomes far more important when the topic is so emotional. I’m not talking about creating the appearance by paying lip service to the idea that an article must be fair and balanced, either. In its proper perspective, the unfavorable material was given far too much space, too much drama, too much gore, and unnecessary titillation. This is real life. Real life is different from slasher movies and the first season of CSI. If you become more aware of this difference you will be able to write better articles.
It is also a little strange to see someone who writes for alternative magazines come out with an article that is straight from the authoritarian book of tricks.
By the way, my experience with tigers has convinced me that private ownership must be encouraged and increased.