A little Sunday evening therapy: I was reading the Game Dame's list of the six most annoying things that bloggers do, and mentally comparing it with what my journalists-turned-bloggers get up to. In the interests of openness, transparency and having my tongue firmly in my cheek, here were my thoughts:
Oh, start with the biggie, why don't you? Almost all journalists want to start with 100% comment moderation, and have to be talked down from that ledge. Why? I think it's because they're used to being the arbiters of what appears in print, and the idea of unfettered access to publication is alien to them. And a touch, the merest smidgin, of suspicion of their readers is there, too.
2. People who don't participate in a process and yet feel they are justified in criticizing whatever they opted out of being a part of.
Hang on! That's what journalists do. If we can't criticise things that we aren't part of, how are we meant to make a living? Huh? Huh?
3. Calling someone a troll because they don't bow down to your point of view.
Journalists don't do this, mainly because most of them are unfamiliar with the term "troll" in this context. They do, however, have a tendency to refuse to publish negative comments rather than interacting with them.
4. Internet Flame Wars
Journalists really don't do this. They don't get involved enough in a discussion most of the time to allow a flame war to begin...
5. People who think that pretending to have an intelligent conversation (using good grammar, of course) can cover up their passive-aggressive, self-centred, neurotic personalities.
Again, journalists aren't prone to this, because they don't get involved enough in the conversation. And even if they did, they know that they're better than their readers, so they don't have to play these games to prove it...
6. People who want their readers to donate via PayPal to their personal blogs.
Not seen anyone do this yet, but given the way the print advertising market is going, it can only be a matter of time.
February 4, 2008 2:03 AM | Reply
You make me laugh, Adam! I actually had a very pointed few reasons for writing that post -- so you could've felt free to modify the list any way you liked! I guess I just had one of those "fed up" days, ya know?
February 4, 2008 11:51 AM | Reply
Fed up days...weeks...months.... :)
February 4, 2008 6:20 PM | Reply
I always thought Journalists were meant to provide objective facts about things going on in the world.
Or is that a reporter?
February 4, 2008 6:28 PM | Reply
Well, certainly that's the ideal, but it's not always the case.
And, of course, as your question about reporters/journalists implies, hackery can be a very broad church, encompassing both hard news reporters and, well, opinion columnists...
February 5, 2008 4:14 AM | Reply
PayPal button? You can do that? Heck, I'm just trying to figure out plugins ...
February 5, 2008 8:12 AM | Reply
You can, not that anyone ever uses them...