IMHO

15Mar09

I have always had opinions, lots of them. And I’ve been willing to share them with you face to face, free of charge. The only problem with that method of delivery is that it really limits the people who can benefit from all the wonderful thoughts and advice I have to share.

Not anymore. No one in Sanilac County will be safe from my musings in the coming year. Muahahaha.

My editor at the Sanilac County News has asked me to contribute as one of twelve columnists for the “In My Opinion” section. At least four times, I’ll be given approximately 400 words to discuss anything I feel warrants the attention–national news, county politics, life in general, nostalgia… the options are completely open.

I’m really excited about the opportunity. I’ve enjoyed the columns that I’ve written for the Pleiad, and feel like a well-written column can drive home the facts of a drier news story with a punch that even a journalist’s beloved statistics can’t. They give the condensed version of impact that you get in a well-written investigative piece. Good columns make the stories that play out on the front page  real for the readers.

But why is that?

Honestly, I think it’s because of the voice that you get in a column. The idea of the objective media has its strengths, but making people feel like they are involved in what’s going on isn’t one of them. A column people can agree or disagree with. It feels like a conversation. A well-written column can provoke people to look deeper into what’s really going on, to really think about how they will be affected.

In my humble opinion, this is exactly where professional blogging fits in. Properly researched posts serve the dual purpose of getting people the basic facts of an issue and taking a stance on it, then giving the readers an interactive forum in which they can assert their own views. And that environment is precisely why I think so many people are turning more and more to the Web for their news (not to discount the fact that we haven’t found a way to charge for Web content, so it’s cheaper that way as well).

That melding of reporting and reaction is one of the most exciting parts of journalism for me right now. So here’s to my venture into using that voice in print, and hoping that I can hone those skills on the Web as well.

Filed under: Journalism   |  1 Comment
Tags: blogging, columnist, jobs, Journalism, musings, online journalism, opinion, Sanilac County News