Erick Erickson has a great piece up at Red State today. He takes to tasks conservatives, and admittedly there are times he could number this blog among them, who go for the sensational without going for the facts. His assertion is that we can, and must, do better.
Conservatives are trying so hard to highlight controversies, no matter how trivial, we have forgotten the basics of reporting: W5 + H as I learned in grade school, also known as who, what, where, when, why, and how. I think conservatives need to reset some of their reportorial resources to tell the stories that need to be told by focusing on the facts at hand in a world view of the right. We need to establish a baseline for integrity in reporting that then allows us to highlight the truly outrageous. That baseline must be the basics of who, what, where, when, why, and how and it must be set before taking the next step into analysis of motivation and its implications.
I’m working on it. Less hysteria. Less just hitting “share” on Facebook without checking the facts first. Less playing off the latest campaign press release.
I’m a follower of Jesus. I’m a writer. I’m a conservative. In that order. My writing needs to reflect that.
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