ELEVENTH IN LINE




About This Blog
A blog about my life, universe, etc. At any given time you might find something endlessly interesting or just me ruminating on something else, which no one (not even myself) finds interesting. That's the way blogs go, I suppose. Anyway, I was eleventh in line, and you weren't. Hah!

About Me
Name:
Sarah
Age:
26
Residence:
Columbus, OH
Religion:
LDS
Political Score:
5.00/-2.15
Job:
Temp @ JPMorgan Chase
College:
Ohio State University
Majors:
Political Science, International Studies
High School: Home Educated
Hobbies:
Reading, standing in line for things, writing, research
Resume:
HotJobs
Email:
lloannna@gmail.com

About My Family
My mom is a
lawyer in Pickerington; my stepdad and dad are computer guys, and my stepmom (who works with my dad) is an engineer. My sisters are, in order of age, a photographer, an artist, and a person too young to have her own website. My brothers are, in order of age, living up north, and again, a person too young to have a website. At some point soon I'll be collecting links for my aunts, uncle, and cousins. ^_^

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(Please see the notes below the Comment Policy before sending me a message)
AIM:
lloannna
ICQ:
29395930
Yahoo:
lloannna



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NaNoWriMo 2007:
My Novel: Cipere Lumen

Official NaNoWriMo 2006 Winner


NaNoWriMo 2006:
My Novel: The Manatee Conspiracy

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My Novel: Beyond the Cliffs of Kefira

Official NaNoWriMo 2005 Participant



NaNoWriMo 2004:
My Novel: sul Okyar tir taTz'ileea

National Novel Writing Month

Thursday, September 09, 2004
 
A little bit of opinion...  
To get one's blood flowing. I wrote this today to Edward Wasserman, who wrote this article (reg. required), which included lines like this (hat tip: InstaPundit):


It's hard now even to write for publication without being aware of just how thoroughly what you say is going to be inspected for any trace of undesirable political tilt and denounced by a free-floating cadre of rightist warriors.


and


If we give prominence to this story of carnage in Iraq, will we be accused of anti-administration bias? And - here it gets interesting - will we therefore owe our readers an offsetting story, perhaps an inspirational tale of Marines teaching young Iraqis how to play softball?


and, the money quote:


Resisting undue outside influence is part of what news professionals do. But it's hard enough to get the story right, without holding it hostage to an open-ended negotiation with zealots who believe they already know what the story is.



Anyway, here's my note in reply.

Mr. Wasserman,

Hi. I'm one of those bloggers that sometimes fact-checks things I see in the newspaper or on TV. Actually, I fact check things I see on blogs, too. I've been doing that since I was a child, because I was taught to critically analyze the information presented to me before accepting it. The difference between now and 1985 is that my analysis isn't floating around in my head, on the pages of my journal, or in a conversation with my parents -- now I can put it on my blog (or in the comment section of someone else's blog). In any case, I'm not suspicious or hostile, and I'm not much of a right-winger, and I don't think I already know what the story is. In fact, a good chunk of the people who blog are left-leaning (e.g. Daily Kos, Kevin Drum), and a good chunk more are at best idealogically outside of a strict Democrat-Republican spectrum (e.g. InstaPundit). I think you'll find, if you do some serious reading of blogs, that the writers in question have a firm committment to the truth, and a particular disregard for media professionals who've decided they're the only ones who get to define what the truth is. I'd have to classify any news professional like that as someone who's trying to exert "undue influence" on how I see the world. Personally I'd rather know what's really going on, than not be sure that I know what's going on, but be confident in the knowledge that my sources are professionals who've gained the approval of editors I'll never even meet. And I prefer to read the opinions of someone who's open about his or her viewpoint and biases, who provides quick access to their sources, critics, and supporters, and who's being openly fact-checked by ten thousand people with internet connections, than someone who chooses to stay behind a veil of feigned objectivity, on top of a pillar built of pure imperious self-importance.

In any case, I hope you'll do some serious investigation of what blogs and other online commentaries are really like (i.e., actually read them), before you cast aspersions on us and those who've decided to be responsive to the views and interests of their readers. It'd only be professional.


I'd also add, now that I've had time to think about it, that there's nothing wrong with trying to remember to be balanced, and that it shouldn't take angry or annoyed letters or blog posts to prompt or provoke that effort. Okay, now I have to go to work. But there you are!

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Because only so many people can be eleventh in line.