For a writer Facebook can be the most
wonderful place. It’s
a place where writers can post links to their written work, learn of new topics
to write about, and interact with fans and followers. For some, such as myself
is both a place of business and recreation. For some poor souls it’s nothing
more than a place to stir up drama and gossip.
What I really have on my mind today,
is the amount of bad journalism the internet provides us with. By bad journalism, by no means, do I
mean missing commas, periods, and question marks. If that were the case I would
be writing about myself. The stories and the imagination of many writers does
concern me. For instance, if you are an article writer and your research comes
from browsing Facebook…you are struggling. You might as well be researching
your topic straight from a grocery store tabloid. You know the ones, they keep
us informed about all the new alien news, and what movie star is sleeping with
what other movie star. Wake up people, there is more crap journalism on the
internet than there are grocery stores.
For those of you that aren’t writers,
you have to understand that most internet writers including myself, get paid
for views. The more
views you get, the more you get paid, simple as that. What I don’t agree with
is the amount of sensationalism and drama writers think they need to provide.
The way I see it, if your story isn’t good enough to stand alone without making
fun of someone, hurting someone, or down right slandering, you need to write a new story.
Journalists are often the eyes and
ears of this country.
I think as a journalist you should at least try to include a few true facts in
articles and not just opinions. Especially opinions that you didn't even form yourself,
but, copied from other articles across the social media platforms. I put myself
in this group as well. If my writings don’t seem to add up, I challenge each of
you to do your own research, dig deeper, and find out the real truth. I’ll give
you a quick example of how gullible people can be. Google this: Lake Catoma Lake
Monster. This is a satirical piece I wrote years ago that had just a dash
of truth to it. Unfortunately many people believed the whole thing.
Yes, I believe writers owe it to the
public to tell the truth. There are two sides to every story, tell them both. Our country is in
the shape it’s in now partially because of biased journalism. Journalists can
play a part in restoring honor, dignity, and trust to this nation. It’s time to
get started. If it has to start with me, so be it. I am not afraid. You guys have a great day.
Lowell
Henderson
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