Chapter 5: Independence from Faction
I liked this chapter especially because I feel like I can learn a lot from this topic. Ok…so I have very strong opinions about certain issues in my head but, I can’t write what I think because that is opinionated journalism. I get that. I know that when I start having to actually write about political or heated topics that I may have to refer back to this chapter. When I was younger (maybe 9th grade) I was really ignorant to other people’s view. I made sure that everyone knew my opinion on issues like abortion, separation of church and state as well as gay marriage.
I thought that the louder I tooted my horn of opinion, the louder it would recoil in the ears of my peers, eventually leading them to believe what I did. This clearly was not the way to go. I have matured greatly since then and find that now I do not have to associate myself with one group or another. The person who is best at arguing is the one that can argue both sides equally. Journalism kind of works in the same way…you can’t associate with one idea/group/opinion. Independence from faction simply implies that you are taking yourself out of a certain category in order to write an objective and fair story about it.