theNoosphere.com

servumtuum · 01-22-10, 02:56 PM

I'm doing something a bit weird here. I'm importing an entire thread from another forum-BGO, to be exact.

Why would I do such a thing-mainly because in the course of the discussion, TheNoosphere came up and I commented that the discussion itself would fit perfectly here.

So I'm bringing it. As the title would suggest, it starts with journalism-sports journalism-and, as most threads do, grows into a discussion of journalism in general-mediocrity as a norm, TMI as a deterrent to in-depth analysis...and more, as yet undiscovered or discussed-which is why it's here.

It's also about reading-and there is a fair amount-but what you read is very good indeed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Om

The Daily Redskin 1.22.10

I admit it. I'm friends with a Cowboys fan.

At least I think I can call him friend--we have "spoken" via the web on and off over the years in our mutual roles as message board administrators, but more so, as lifelong fans of rival professional football teams. He goes by Hostile in his online incarnation, but don't let the nom-de-guerre and occasionally brusque ...

More...

Quote:

Originally Posted by servumtuum

Magnificent, Om, simply magnificent.

This kind of thing is why I hold you in such high esteem. Your friend Hostile expressed things I have thought and felt, things I have sensed even outside the field of sports journalism-to all journalism, and to how and why we are the way we are...and why I so often am bothered by it. He also is an excellent wordsmith like yourself.

By the way, I watched Secretariat run in the Triple Crown-it is still one of the most unforgettable things I have ever seen.

You did yourself proud, my friend...you did all of us proud.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Om

Too kind, brother. Thank you.

Some random thoughts on the writing part ...

- there is still good writing out there, even in sports. You just have to go looking for it a bit harder than back in the day. Rick Reilly at SI jumps to mind. And Thomas Boswell at the WP.

- there are so many NON-writers covering sports (reporters masquerading as writers) that the good writing is too often lost in the noise.

- To me perhaps he single biggest contributor to the problem is that mainstream sportswriter/reporters all seem to have sworn an Oath of Cynicism in order to be welcomed in the brotherhood. I have never been around any group in any profession that affects such contrived jadedness and cynicism. If I'd had any real interest in pursuing football writing as a vocation instead of an avocation, having to check my heart and passion at the door would have kept me from taking the plunge. Life's too short to go through pretending you just don't give a damn in order to get paid.

Here's a post from Hostile's thread that goes right to the heart of that:

Quote:

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showpo...5&postcount=24

I got into sports journalism because I loved sports and writing; it seemed a marriage made in Heaven to me.

From a young age I loved to read and from seventh grade loved the craft of writing. I began to write poetry, short stories, and made the obligatory attempt at a novel. I also wrote with heart. I liked and always searched for the human element of sports. When I became a sports columnist my editors thought this to be quaint and even endearing, but ultimately wouldn't publish articles with heart, or edit them heavily if they did. I would open the magazine to read an article with my name on it that was unrecognizable compared with my submission. They would almost literally pat me on the head affectionately, saying I wasn't jaded enough yet, and then smile amongst themselves.

When I became the sports editor, and an associate editor of the magazine, I had more say. But the managing editors, and editor-in-chief, still kiboshed many of my articles or ones I'd helped develop with other fledgling sportswriters.

Behind-the-scenes they openly requested articles that attacked players or coaches. They didn't follow sports, so only knew the headlines, and would make wild assumptions based on the little they'd heard, and direct me to exploit an angle I knew to be spurious. My protestations would fall on deaf ears, so I'd write the article but attempt to find a way to make it balanced, which was next to impossible without being completely contradictory. Inevitably, they'd edit out anything that didn't fit with their angle, and the result would be a hack piece... not so much written by me, but edited by them. It was often an embarrassment.

I asked for a meeting with the managing editors, and chief-of-staff, and stated my position, and said I wasn't willing to compromise it. They felt it was cute, the guy with the heart was standing up for himself. I mention this to let you know the culture, how showing heart in the industry is often seen as weakness, and diminishes your credibility. Cynicism is the modern day art form amongst many in publishing.

The end of the story is predictable. They said I made good points and would allow me to write with more freedom. It lasted for one or two issues and then returned to normal whereupon I submitted my resignation and went back to school for Sports Psychology.

The players themselves responded to heart because it's as elemental to competition as good grammar is to writing. But then we'd all read the sports columns, and shake our heads at the disconnect, the skewed perception of the writers (or editors). Somewhere along the way heart disappeared from print but it will never disappear from the playing field.

- I still tear up when I watch the '73 Belmont. "... he's moving like a magnificent machine!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sassy Gretsch

Mediocrity is easy, in terms of production and consumption. It is cost-effective. It requires little to no effort. It can be fabricated on a mass scale, homogenized and packaged and ready-to-eat. It is the production line in the factory--it is the soulless, grinding machinery produced and consumed by automatons.

The only art today exists almost exclusively outside of the mainstream, where it can be protected from harmful corporate influence, a job that is increasingly more difficult. We don't want anything extraordinary or special or that might challenge our view of things.

Sports journalism is, by and large, meaningless. It is background noise, an ambience designed to maximize our chip eating experience, at worst, and at best a feel-good Sandra Bullock movie.

It is amazingly, beautifully, poetically ironic that as our access to information increases our knowledge decreases, and even more frightening, our curiosity, our thirst for knowledge.

(And maybe that partially explains why the Noosphere is a ghost town.

)

Anyway, it is Friday, and reading your post, Om, made me think. And for that I cannot forgive you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by servumtuum

That little gem now resides in a list of quotes I add to from time to time as I run across those truly excellent bits of pith and poignancy I happen across in my digital wanderings.

I will give credit, Om, when-as inevitably happens, I wind up using the thing because it expresses an idea better than I could.

And, Sassy, after having enjoyed your bit of humility-inducing eloquence, I'm struck by another irony-this particular discussion would fit perfectly into TN.

Which gives me an idea.....

Geez...I hope Om can forgive me......(tee-hee)

Yup-I posted the whole thread-to this point-over here-(I hope the owners of both forums don't get too miffed at the presumption but it would have taken too much time to try to explain what I was up to.

)

Anyway-there seemed to be enough fertile ground here to sprout ideas and comments at TN as well as at the BGO forum and even though many here are involved there, many are not-and the discussions and threads here are usually too "heavy" and involved to fit comfortably at BGO which, to me, has a lighter atmosphere.

So, bottom line, read, think, comment if you wish. You might say I'm trying an experiment, just to see what happens.

Bishop · 02-07-10, 12:45 PM

I have sat on this subject for a while, letting my thoughts percolate. As an English Major, a book-lover, and someone who now makes his living as a Technical Writer, this subject hits close to home. A little too close. Consequently, I could have written a dissertation on it, but decided it was better to let my thoughts settle out and just write what rose to the top.

Over the years, I have seen a decline in good writing of all kinds, not just sports journalism. Since I started keeping track six months ago, one of my favorite technology sites has only managed to produce one completely error-free article. And I don't mean subtle errors like who vs. whom or the difference between a lectern and a podium (look it up!) that everyone misses, but glaringly obvious errors that are the result of hurried copy/paste sentence rearrangement, or typing too fast, or just simply not proof-reading before posting.

Part of it may be the "sound bite" mentality of the media. But I think a larger part has to do with the "good enough" mentality of most Americans, combined with the "need it now" push of business and marketing.

As Boone pointed out so well in his latest blog entry, anything worth doing is worth doing well. But that's not the attitude in this country anymore. Now, everything should be done as quickly as possible. Getting it done NOW is more important than getting it done RIGHT. Journalism is especially susceptible to this premise, since if someone else gets the story out first, then you've already "lost".

I disagree with Hostile's implication that good writing has to be long. He states, "If you didn't bother to read the article you don't need to read any further. You prove the point." I didn't bother to read the article because, quite frankly, I could make the argument that Hostile exhibited BAD writing here. If you write 1100+ words and can't make your point without also "quoting" still another article of 7000+ words, then you are failing to properly focus on your point. Or worse yet, you are belaboring the point. Good writing CAN be short and sweet. (And I'm also a Cowboys fan, living in Dallas, so I'm not just picking on Hostile.

)

The final problem I see which I believe has contributed to the deterioration of quality writing is that everyone thinks they can do it. Owning an expensive camera does not mean you will be able to take good photographs. Just the same, owning a word processor and being able to speak the language does not mean you will be able to write well. But the ease of "publication" provided by the Internet means there a lot of poor writers out there who managed to get the job of writing.

One of my favorite cartoonists, Jef Mallett, author of Frazz, recently summed it up perfectly. He said, ". . . anybody with any education can write. Anybody can cut hair, too. The trick with either is to do it well, and for some reason people have a lot more confidence in their writing than their barbering."

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