Is It Possible to Write Objectively and Still Get Reads?
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I’m being objective — You’ll read it, you’ll clap and comment, or else!
There’s an old story about how two different news organizations covered the same event and how they reported it in their respective media.
It was a boat race between the US and Russia. The facts — the US ship finished first and the Russian ship was second.
US media headlines said, “US Wins Boat Race with Russia.”
The Russian Headline, “Russia Finishes Second in Boat Race the US Finishes Next to Last.”
I would make the case that both headlines are 100 percent accurate but what will the reader take away from each headline if that’s the only information they have?
As I’ve said many times the flattest pancake has two sides.
When writing your story or giving your opinion on a topic which side of the pancake do you use?
We All Have Biases
We’re human. We gravitate toward information we feel is factually correct based on either the source of the material or information we’ve collected previously.
When we voice our opinion there’s often someone who will disagree with our point of view.
Abortion and the Right to Life or Climate Change are perfect examples.
It would be hard to write an article down the middle of the road on these three passionate positions. You’d have to agree with both then disagree with both.
Then try to placate both sides. As we all know that never works.
When we pick a topic, it should be something we’re familiar with and can write from a knowledgeable perspective.
But does it end there?
Are We Trying to Inform or Convert?
Now there’s a pancake. What’s our writing saying?
Which side of the pancake are we pontificating from?
Are we providing information based on commonly accepted facts to educate our readers?
Or are we using cherry-picked information to convert a nonbeliever to a believer of our viewpoint?
