So I will never be an investigative journalist.

[tiredbuthyper]

How funny, that just when I am making forays into the field of journalism and becoming a reporter, I am confronted with its downside.

Today -- a day I was already very grumpy about, because it's Valentine's Day and I can't see my man on it -- a family member gently broke the news about an article in The Atlantic.

It's entitled "My Brother's Keeper"

Comments

[suckyfucky]

I know it's impossible, but you really can't take it personally, especially when you're in a journalistic field. Journalism is not about emotions, or even people, it's about sales. Selling ad space and selling magazines/newspapers/whathaveyou ESPECIALLY if you are working for a print outlet that has to compete with the convenience of internet news and rss feeds.

The general public is going to read more articles about the psyche of killers than they are about their victims, and that is the sad truth. You need to request to be removed from any story involving your family, because you are only going to hate your life more and more if you don't remove yourself immediately. A professional newspaper wouldn't let any reporter report on a story they were personally involved in to begin with.

[tiredbuthyper]

Yeah, I know. But this article is so biased that it throws the journalistic code out the window, and today, I found out why. The killers' father approached the paper to do an article to fucking fundraise for their trials and/or the one's bail.

It didn't even try to be objective, and it's blatant point is disrespect.

I am going to send an anonymous letter to the paper because it will give me peace of mind. If I put my name to it, the news stations and shit will start calling and no one wants that.

It is so bad it is actually legally actionable, but murky enough that it's too much for my family in top of the trial, which is what they were counting on.

Luckily, I don't want to be a real journalist. Writing for the life & style section is fine with me.

[suckyfucky]

I am not remotely surprised. All about the money. I write advertising editorials so that's literally my entire thought process, so I can see both sides of the story, and while I obviously sympathize with yours, I am not shocked at it happening, no matter how "illegal' it is.

Life & Style seems interesting enough though. Do you have your own column?

[tiredbuthyper]

What are advertising editorials?

Yeah, I mean, I understand the need to sell papers, but I can't be objective about this one -- and they really crossed the line in this one, IMHO, and my family feels harassed and disrespected.

An article about their backgrounds are fair game, but this one is really written with a distinct purpose so much so that it's poisoning the well and I would not feel comfortable if the jurors read it. Hopefully, they will he disqualified if they do, but the system isn't perfect.

And I don't have a column, but I may in the future. I may get to interview Renee Fleming and if so I will jizz my pants!