In My Opinion

An opinion is what you have when you don't have any facts. When you have the facts, you don't need an opinion.

~Solomon Short~

This quote, considering the source, strikes me as funny. Solomon Short is the "alter ego" of David Gerrold, a Sci-Fi Writer. I do realize that Science Fiction needs to be accurate, but a lot of what he rights is his opinion, in essence, of what he thinks the world is going to be. 

But, of course, if he is writing about the future, he wouldn't have any facts, would he?

Why the long story? In class we talked about verification and journalism. I know this may come as a surprise, but we aren't actually allowed to make things up. I know, it stinks. But there is a bright side! You see, if you are a good journalist, there is always a story. Everyone has one-- it just takes searching. There is never a need to make up facts when there are so many interesting but ordinary people walking past us every day.

But with all of this interesting information being shared, it is natural to become close to those you learn from-- DON'T! This one will be hard for me. I like people. I like to be around them, I like to learn from them, I like to make connections with people. This makes me a good interviewer, this makes me a terrible journalist. 

Don't get me wrong-- my stories sound the same, my writing is unaffected-- but it is like a doctor that gets too close to a dying patient, they can't let go. As a journalist (and as a doctor) we have to be able to let go of our sources, be sympathetic but unaffected. 

It may be harsh, but it's a harsh world.

With all of Folly's Frivolities,

Allison Goett