Tag Archives: opinion

Dokter’s Weekly Report #15

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It seems like the big media houses and even the editors act like drug dealers. Only care about the big score. Earning a big buck as fast as they can – now. Tomorrow, not so important. Next week, who cares with all this fast cash?!

Been an interesting week at BIFF. Second year I’m covering it for The Westender. Yet another exciting time. Picking mostly great films and documentaries. The last reviews will be finished very soon and filed for publication.

In the mean time I’ve kept myself busy researching a column on the weirdest guy ever. He caught my eye last weekend, and since then I’ve been tracking his very odd behaviour on Twitter. I’ve tried to get in touch with the guy, but he refuses to speak to me. Yet he has no inhibitions on posting the move vile tweets publicly. Which kind of wraps up the research at this point. I don’t think or hope he will come with anything worse. I already have heaps of information to write a lengthy column about this guy.

I will of course let you all know when it will be published and where.

Enjoy rest of the report.

Linkage

Journalism once had Woodward and Bernstein. Now it’s guns for hire – Read it
The same old conundrum keeps coming up. Everyone one wants investigative journalism, but no one wants to pay for it. Weird no one learned from the faults of the entertainments industry. Give the consumers what they want and they will pay for it. Or else they’ll find a way to get it for free and even make it themselves.

Never Apologize For Having An Opinion — Especially When You’re Right – Read it
A wonderful piece of writing. Bringing up the issue I have with the so-called objective journalism and fake balance. If you have the facts on your side, say it!

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Fumbling with words and opinions

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It has been a busy few weeks. Hunched over either the Mac, the iPad or a large collection of books and [academic] journal articles. Taking notes, writing drafts and formulating arguments, while backing them up with academic sources. Writing in a purely objective tone, which has made me more objective, yet conjured this mild fear and strong loathing for opinions and emotionalism.

We all have opinions, no question about that. It is also a driving force for thoughts. However, it is not the be all and end all of ideas. More importantly, it is not facts.

The beauty with opinions, which far too few grasp and are able to put into practice is that opinions are neutral. They are not right nor wrong, from a personal perspective. However, they become either right or wrong when the person with an opinion try to pass one of as a fact or as if it is better than someone else’s opinion.

I guess it is a good thing that I am becoming more objective, in the sense that, when it comes to journalistic writing and debating, that I want to detach myself from personal opinions that are fuelled by emotionalism and not based on facts.

As I often point out, in journalistic writing a to prefer subjectivity over objectivity, in the same way as Hunter S. Thompson did, and I share the same view that down-right lying is wrong.

And while I’m writing this I feel very clumsy doing so. You see, as I mentioned in the beginning, I have written countless academic essays and write-ups with an objective tone. So when I sit down to write something like this, more personal and from first-person, it just feels a bit odd. But in a good and liberating way.

I can finally share my thoughts my freely with you, the reader. It also helps being finally able to sit down and read a book, that you’ve decided on your own to read, not because you have to. Taking in the inspiring style of writing from the author.