Injecting opinions in straight news stories

I'm not saying we shouldn't have opinion in the paper. I'm just saying there is place for news and there is a place for editorializing.
I still say the public distrusts us because they believe we are only writing things to assert or reinforce what we believe or want them to believe.
Columns are fine. News stories are too. Just keep them separate.

 

Well, we simply disagree, which is OK.

Hal McCoy explaining why the Reds blew it when they brought in a certain pitcher in a certain situation in the eighth inning is not going to undermine the public trust.

Hal SHOULD do that.

When we're not dealing with HGH or steroids or game-fixing or athletes getting busted for crimes, sports is entertainment. It should be treated and reported as such. Right down to outright opinion in "news" stories.

 

YOU CAN'T DISAGREE WITH ME! I'M ONLY PRINTING THE FACTS, NOT MY OPINIONS! YOU CAN'T DISAGREE WITH FACTS!

 

Stop shouting DC.

It's unbecoming to a gentleman.

 

Thank god for the proper use of the blue font.

 

Callling someone a standout is blatant editorializing?
You're kidding, right Demo?

 

There's a fine line here.

Can I say a basketball team had a "horrific" or "nightmarish" or "abysmal" quarter? All of those words involve an opinion of some sort. I can if I back it up with facts: The Douchebags endured an abysmal third quarter, in which they made just 1 of 13 shot attempts and turned the ball over eight times."

Same thing applies here.

Sportswriting and entertainment writing are a little different than straight news stories. You're expected to inject some analysis in there.

 

Well, the thread wasn't about a news story. I don't think the public mistrusts the press because of color in an "Idol" piece. Or because of "opinions" in news stories.

It's because journalists aren't getting the real story. Maybe journalists plagiarizing their work also hurts our image. But it's not about adding color to a story.

 

This is a great post for any young writer wanting to learn something. Very well said. I have done this myself since I began sports writing 20 years ago --- interjected my opinion into stories --- even though it was against the rules of journalism. People have always seemed to enjoy them because the opinion makes them a little more edgy I suppose. Well, they either enjoy them or hate them because they disagree with some of the analysis but, no matter, the bottom line is this is how you should write, especially nowadays.

Straight facts and quotes are easily accessible anywhere if it's college level or higher. You are only boring your reader by sticking to the basics. Expand what you write, clarify it, and show it by explaining your opinions with facts and things that back it up.

If you don't, nobody will be reading you because you're stuff is boring. Trust me, Express knows what he is talking about here. Good post SF.

 

It's impossible to be without bias in reporting. Choosing which facts to report and how to organize them reflects a value system, which is a type of bias.

That said, if you're going to include an opinion of yours while you're reporting, you'd better be damn sure- certain, in fact- that you're right.

 

Aren't we always right until proven wrong?

 

It is editorializing. What if I thought Brooke sucked? Who decides she is a standout? The judges? Fine, report that. An online poll? No problem. But to just randomly throw it out there is editorializing.
"Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Who says? Maybe I think Kobe is better, or Wilt Chamberlain, or Pete Maravich.
I admit I used a bad example in that I picked a report on a TV show, but I'm telling you, I'm seeing this stuff more and more in news pieces. It only makes matters worse.
If you are a writer and not a columnist, your job is to find and report the facts, not your opinion. We are all going to see things through our own biases, true, but that doesn't mean you just go, "Well, I'll just say what I think then."
What if I wrote an article about the Iraq war and included a line like, "The worst president in our history got us into the biggest mistake in our history, and the number of good people who died in vain continues to rise."