News is news. What, when, where, how, who cares? When filtered through the eyes and pen (ok, that’s too old school. I meant to say keyboard) of a person, the facts become diffused. Anyone with eyes can see the same event that was written about and say: “That’s not what I saw.”
Sure, we all know that journalism is subjective. Perhaps the good that information and opinion does for a society outweighs the opining of those who convey that information. In fact, I’m sure it does.
Then, there is “color.” What about journalism’s literary cousin? For me, a well-written feature, perhaps blending fact and data with a story, has far more impact than any other media. The immediacy and the visceral nature of said pieces make them seem far more based in reality than something off the Reuters’ wire.
Therefore, I disclose that the word “news” in the subtitle at the top of this page will sometimes refer to the hard facts and sometimes refer to my opinion of said facts. I am both too small and too jaded to think that my writing will accomplish anything “big.” Personal opinions and the personal experiences that form them are so much more real to me than grand ideas and weighty events (not that those aren’t important).
With this in mind, dear reader, feel free to peruse this weblog in the future, discarding or taking to heart whatever is on these pages. And, so I don’t leave you with merely a rant, here are some links to articles that contain the above-mentioned “color.” Karl Taro Greenfeld has written some great travel articles in the past. This is an older one, but it still feels personal and fresh. And then there is Pico Iyer, heir apparent to Norman Lewis in the genre of travel essays.
Michael Herr’s Dispatches is the ultimate combination of reportage and personal narrative, one of the most intense reading experiences I’ve ever had.
