Consensus Gentium Debate: What is the role of a journalist in RBC specifically?

[ophelia]

I've particularly enjoyed these articles simply because they've opened up a civilized, such as it is discussion on the changing topics. It's been nice to see that rather than watching things devolve into a NO YOU NO YOU YER MOM sort of argument. Thank you folks!

[Ezra]

Writing a solid article is a lot of work, which is why I haven't done it in years.

That.

However, I still maintain that the "secret sauce" so to speak for the Grimoire and the Nitty Gritty was the fact that they both existed at the same time. You had two main journalists for each group and an extended staff on each. Anytime anything happened, it was a mad dash to try to be the first to the story, get the facts, and get it up. I know for us, when the NG scooped us, there was literally a "FUCKING HELL" moment and then a mad dash to get to the other side of the story and get THAT up before they had a clean sweep. I think the competition was crucial because it made us more proactive at chasing news, getting stories, or even throwing up a hint of a rumor that something might be amiss just to be the first to publish. The end product for the city was essentially two complete sides of most stories and events if people read both, and that was a win for everyone, even if you lost the scoop race.

I very much agree with that and competition being a huge boost. Not to mention, the city itself was just vastly more active then, which can't be ignored. I think all the points so far have been really great -- and especially nice to hear from people who have written articles before!

[Vex]

Writing a solid article is a lot of work, which is why I haven't done it in years.

That.

However, I still maintain that the "secret sauce" so to speak for the Grimoire and the Nitty Gritty was the fact that they both existed at the same time. You had two main journalists for each group and an extended staff on each. Anytime anything happened, it was a mad dash to try to be the first to the story, get the facts, and get it up. I know for us, when the NG scooped us, there was literally a "FUCKING HELL" moment and then a mad dash to get to the other side of the story and get THAT up before they had a clean sweep. I think the competition was crucial because it made us more proactive at chasing news, getting stories, or even throwing up a hint of a rumor that something might be amiss just to be the first to publish. The end product for the city was essentially two complete sides of most stories and events if people read both, and that was a win for everyone, even if you lost the scoop race.

Agreed, with a caveat. That means the general populace need to be willing to 1) work, 2) shelf the whole 'if they publish an article I don't like, I'm boycotting the whole paper' thing, and 3) stop vilifying people personally for reporting things that you don't like, 4) ENGAGE.

The HFC article is the perfect example of #3 - I left HFC well before publishing that article, and it had nothing to do with what happened; I just didn't use the space anymore, so I stopped going. I noticed the changes, but didn't think much of it until I had 3-4 people asking me about it/wondering what was going on because I left. So I wrote the piece as factually as possible. The list I got initially was wrong as it'd been passed over during the renovation process, and I got flak for that. I fixed it, and got flak for fixing it. Pick a camp.

I think competition is great, and anyone is welcome to publish their own piece on Ab, and I think given the... fractured state of things, it'd be great to have competing articles with different perspectives in the same space. Personally, I'd love to have a more diverse team to report stuffage from different points of view here on Ab, but the reality is because the reasons above, very few people are willing to put themselves out there.

Moreover, for competition to work, that whole boycott mentality needs to change. Most of us have been here for years, and while we may not like each other, liking each other isn't necessary to participate in a more productive way. As Ez pointed out, though, between more actual people years ago and fewer mega grudges, I think there's less room for healthy competition of the NG/Grimoire sort.

[Tarchetti]

This was quite lovely to read, various opinions and very good valid points.

In conclusion needless to suggest, journalism role may vary depending on the writer behind the pen...Also the crowd you want to draw attention to. A journalist may investigate and be all about finding out the dirty gruesome and dramatic secrets among us all as a society. One would hope that it is done with a basic principal, using verification and providing sources. Providing facts, quotes, interviews even. Unveil of fake news.That sure will stir some drama when you rattle skeletons.

You could also expect the straight-forward journalist, headlines. Just provide events and information as accurate and unbiased.

Be a journalist who provides a partial opinion as possible. Important to provide an intelligent, informed opinion of the subject based on research and experience. I think this one does entertain me personally. It's always fun to be an observer and break it down to the best civil manner as possible and same time be informative as you write.

Maybe be a column journalist, this is more personal I suppose, since you add a bit of your persona as throw a bit of venom to occurring situations. I guess we may consider this type of journalist to be more freelance, adding personal experiences and thoughts.

A feature writing journalist who can provide a unique insight, interpretations of given events, topics or even people. Look more in depth and speak about trends. Offering a diverse perspective.

All in all... A journalist can have many faces and to define one specific role, when it can be broken down in different categories based on who's the journalist. Readers will follow and read what entertainment they may seek.

[Joy]

In the beginning the question was, "What is the role of a journalist in RBC specifically?", but as this debate waged the focus shifted to if news was supposed to be entertainment or information based. Whether you want your offerings to be Bran Flakes or Fruity Pebbles, at least we can all agree the city is hungry for more news.

With two clear sides, opinions broke out with a bit of variety in both directions. I've done my best to gather them all up and accurately represent each variance for your approval thus far. Here they be:

• To deliver information, as free from partiality as they can make it.

• To entertain, provoke, and inform in order to spark activity and discussion.

• To be true to their purpose in whatever they are writing: news should be done straight and columns should be personal, etc.

• Get it right and make it worth our time.

If you think I left out a side or didn't define an opinion correctly, speak now or forever hold your tongue. But don't actually hold your tongue because this city can't afford any more silent citizens. I like to say that every opinion counts here, but these specifically will probably go on to impact this very paper profoundly so get HEARD.

[Joy]

O.M.G. our first anonymously submitted opinion!! Here it is unfiltered:

"First, I'd like to (generally) agree with Ezra. It is not possible for a journalist to gather every perspective, every fact, and every event that happened when reporting on a topic. No matter how much we may grumble that they should should have asked this person, or should have put in this statistic if they were going to present that statistic, if a journalist went after every grain of sand on the shore before they released their article, either the world would end, or the journalist would go mad, whichever came first, and the result of both is no article.

”Joy zeroed Sartori. Sartori currently sits at 0 pints. Rest well.” - factual. Respectfully keeping integrity. “Sartori fell at the hands of Joy tonight. He currently sits at 0 pints. We have reports that he ran as the final blows were raining down on him. Some say he begged for the holy water to stop flowing. Some say he’s still locked in a cycle of begging even now, despite the attack being long since finished! No necromancer for you old boy, you got stomped.

This is an interesting comment. First of all, the second "quote" doesn't have an end quote, so I don't know where it ends. And, even in the first example which is meant to be "factual respectful journalistic integrity" some bias, arguably, leaks through as well ("Rest well" can be construed as some sort of bias, if you ask the right person). The first quote (minus the "rest well") belongs in an encyclopedia and the second quote is just flat out gossip. An article with journalistic integrity should fall somewhere in between. It should have facts, support for those facts, quotes from stakeholders, etc. but it should also provoke discussion. It is not beyond the scope of a journalist to poke and prod the public to speak their minds. "On the 13th of March in the year 2020 at 9:56 PM, the vampire known as Joy, has proclaimed herself as the person who zeroed the vampire known as Sartori (he currently sits at 0 pints of blood. 'Yeah, I zeroed that worthless scum. He went after my poodle and nobody f**ks with my poodle," she said to Ab Antiquo. When we reached out for comment, Sartori had this to say: 'I'm not really sure why she zeroed me. I joked to my good friend Daly about eating dogs when she was around, but I don't know s**t about her poodle.' Daly could not be reached for comment. We here at Ab imagine this is the start of something bigger, though who can say for sure. What say you, fellow readership? Is this a war about to bubble over the edge, or a minor misunderstanding that will be resolved? We'll be posting updates and comments as they become available, so keep checking back here for any changes to this breaking news!" The article informs, but also asks for input. It tries to in some way involve the community and even plugs the newspaper as the place to go for more information. And, I think a pressing question closely tied to this original one, is this: What is the role of RBC's readership? I think we all tend to take what we read for granted. While I think the role of a journalist is to inform (with facts and integrity) and incite discussion (again with facts, integrity, and open ended questions of the public), I think it is the role of RBC's readership to read each article with a discerning eye, not take every word read for granted and to seek out information on their own to form their own opinion."