Wednesday, December 21, 2005

I Don't Know What to Make ...

... of this Slate article. I read the New York Times piece and it struck me as odd.

When a reporter becomes such a large part of a story, the dynamic of journalism fundamentally changes. The craft depends on a certain distance from the events covered -- not because we don't care, but because we want to produce a fair record.

One the other hand, does this distance require us to relinquish our humanity? Or does that formulation present reporters and editors with a false choice? How much does my concept of the craft depend on outdated notions of what journalism does?

How many rhetorical questions can I ask in a row? So far, four. But watch out for one more. As I said, I don't know what to make of this story, reporter or debate.

What would I do in a similar situation? I have no idea.