Have you ever wanted to call your readers morons?

"It's not a columnist's job to make people angry..." Really?

There's a right way and a wrong way (of which this is Exhibit 3,406) of pissing off your readers, but anger is always a good emotion to elicit. It shows people care about what you're writing.

I won't call this publisher a moron, but journalistically ignorant fits rather well.

 

That hit me immediately too. What a pompous way to start an apology column. To me it's almost as condescending as calling the readers morons. Jeebus.
And how on Earth did anyone think it was a good idea to run this column? I can ALMOST see the argument that it will evoke a response. But how could anyone in an editing position not expect that response to be complete outrage?

 

I suspect the guy didn't have an idea for a column; that's the one he wrote and figured the outrage from readers and his follow up defending of his actions would carry him for a while.
Ridiculous idea. He's where he belongs.

 

As bad as that column was (the damn reference to being in Jamaica makes you wanna gag), I gotta wonder who in the hell let that damn story through in the first place.

 

I'm guessing the editor who was fired. From the publisher's column:
"the Times has parted ways with former editor John MacNeil and reporter Aaron Carr."
The question is WHY did he let it through? I'm thinking he's a moron.

 

Was thinking of someone more tied to this board...

 

I've never wanted to call my readers morons.

Because without them, we wouldn't have jobs, would we?

 

Had no idea Gregg Doyel moved to Canada.

 

Readers morons? Only on days that end in Y.

 

I actually agree with him. It is not a columnist's JOB to piss people off. It is a columnist's job to provide opinion and analysis on a team, sport, players, etc. If pissing people off becomes a side effect of providing those honest opinions, so be it.

There's nothing worse than a columnist who believes it is his JOB to purposefully go around pissing people off, even if they don't believe a word coming out of their own mouths (or keyboards). You know who they are, and I. Fucking. Hate. those guys.

It is part of a columnist's job not to be AFRAID to piss readers off. But you shouldn't set out with that as your goal.

 

While there has been an urge on my part to refer to readers as "morons", i have always concluded that i would much rather exert my energy and hopefully whatever talent I might have into something much more important. but yes, that urge has existed, especially with readers who might call in bitching about something you didn't run and yet it was there on the page for even Stevie Wonder to peruse and these idiots (er...morons) didn't see it.

 

That sucked.