Neatorama posted the 11 most important philosophical questions today. While I read through them, I thought of how each could be applied to journalism.
- “The unexamined life is not worth living†– Socrates (470-399 BCE)
- “Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily†– William of Ockham (1285 – 1349?)
- “The life of man [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.†– Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679)
- “I think therefore I am†– René Descartes (1596 – 1650)
- “To be is to be perceived (Esse est percipi).†– Bishop George Berkeley (1685 – 1753)
- “We live in the best of all possible worlds.†– Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 – 1716)
- “The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk.†G.W.F. Hegel (1770 – 1831)
- “Who is also aware of the tremendous risk involved in faith – when he nevertheless makes the leap of faith – this [is] subjectivity … at its height.†– Søren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855)
- “God is dead.†– Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900)
- “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.†– Albert Camus (1913 – 1960)
- “One cannot step twice in the same river.†– Heraclitus (ca. 540 – ca. 480 BCE)
The unexamined isn’t news. But, almost anything, once examined, is news. Everyone has a story, and it is a reporter’s job to find out what that is and what’s interesting about it.
Applies more to Web design, but since newspapers are learning how to do that: Remove all unnecessary design elements. Simple is better.
Sure. But relate it back to the first one. Even if everyone’s life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short,” there’s always something unique and interesting that warrants inclusion in a story.
The quote originally describes man in his or her natural “uncivilized” state. The dissemination of news is part of what we like to call a civilized society. Thus, news prevents the life of man from being “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
I am, therefore I write. I think, therefore I have something to write about.
To be written about is to be perceived.
Maybe, but bad news sells papers. And there always seems to be plenty of that.
You never know what the real story is until you sit down to write it.
Decisions, in writing, reporting and editing, are not always crystal clear. Sometimes you just have to take the risk.
Print is dead? Not yet, but it’s on the way out. A healthy dose of skepticism is good in a reporter, but cynicism can ruin a good reporter.
There is but one truly serious ethical problem: Do you print it as a suicide or not?
You can’t write the same story twice. There is always a new angle, a change or some background you didn’t know about the first time around.