Devon, I had that very kind of job once. It was one of those “driveway glossies” I call them — you know the ones they leave in your mailbox or lying in your driveway. A pool and spa one, I think.

Anyway, I was in the middle of the assignment about innovations in BBQ grilling when the editor said I couldn’t use a source I’d dug for. No one told me until I’d already invested time into it that the sources had to be advertisers. That was my last assignment. And I told them to take my name off it (they didn’t). The editor was an actual editor who’d moved to the job thinking he could run a tight ship. (He left once he realized it wasn’t actual journalism.)

Yes, the spin! Lord, I hate that. Luckily, I’ve had just one client ask that of me, and it was one of the shortest-lived relationships I’ve had. There’s embellishment — “Nearly half of all people (when it’s 4.6 out of ten and your trying to make a case that this is a BIG deal when it isn’t)” — then there’s outright lying.

The three sources — absolutely! I’ve written countless articles, and every one of them has a minimum of three sources. Sure, they may be more of the industry-perspective articles, but I argue that those need opposing voices equally, if not more so. People are making business decisions based on what they’re reading, and if an article predicts all’s right with the insurance world when the fourth person warns against something specific (and I don’t include it), that’s harming the reader.

I think the Jayson Blairs of the world, while more plentiful in supply these days, do still get vetted. Maybe not as publicly as he did, but I’ve seen it with several of the publications I’ve worked with over the years. I know of one within the last three years that did remove a writer because facts didn’t matter to that person.

If this current administration does anything positive, it will be when people begin the return to facts because the alternative facts are so ridiculously, obviously bogus. I know editors are fighting the tough fight to verify the sh*t out of everything right now.

When people stop enjoying being lied to (and it’s a minority, but a large minority), they will demand more. Let’s hope that’s sooner rather than later.

Charlie! Long time, my friend. We miss you in the writers’ group. I have not read that, but it’s now on my list. Thank you.

Hope life at the corporate level is treating you well!

Not so trite, Tanja. I agree with your approach– unless you verify it, it didn’t happen. 😉

“how” should have been at the end of who-what-where-when-why.

One of the things I’ve encountered too often in marketing meetings with corporate clients is being handed stacks of data and told to spin it to reflect something the client wants, whether or not the data supports it because “data can be manipulated.”

Of course, Broadway publicists have long turned manipulation into an art form, when pulling a positive quote out of a negative review for marketing purposes. Especially pulling from bad reviews by theatre critics who hated theatre so much we all wondered why they were in the job in the first place.

Yep. I can’t remember if the editor decided to pursue it in his own, but I clearly remember his attitude that I probably didn’t look into it heard enough. (If only he could have heard the laughter of every single expert I asked about it on his behalf!)

That kind of “balance” sounds professional. I don’t know that we’re really in all that much disagreement. My issue is with larger media who do it just to do it (seeking other opinions even if obscure just so they aren’t accused of being biased for reporting facts that have no bias). I don’t worry at all about people like you or Sharon. It’s more that new writers often fail to understand the difference, or they don’t have the skills or understanding yet to even realize when they’re doing it or when they’re giving a platform to misinformation because they’ll include stats or quotes that “sound good” without really understanding where those statistics or takes are coming from.

Back to my cave now at least until spring finally shows its face. Should feel like it finally here this week, but we still have several inches of snow on the ground. 🙁