Better To Remain Silent
I did mention last time that I prefer to write as and when I feel like it, and interestingly enough (perhaps even ironically, er no) I came across a piece here talking about the same thing. I do like Anxiety Culture, you should check it out. IMO this is spot on. Professional journalists generally have to come up with something even when there's nothing to say. Naturally that's going to affect the quality of the work they do.
Wouldn't it be great on the TV news if they did about five minutes and then said "Well, frankly that's it. We did have a story about a budgie being sent a voting card [1] but we figured if that was the best we could do then why bother. Now here's a cartoon". Or in the papers, on page 8 it could say "Well there isn't really any more news. Here's twenty pages of Keira Knightley in a bikini". Hang on, that is what most of them do, come to think of it. But no. Quantity prevails over quality and people have to write a load of shite about stuff that no one cares about. And to make people read it, they have to pretend that it is important. Worst of all, the best way to make it seem important is to frighten people. Bird flu will kill millions. Every time you board a plane it's half full of shoe bombers. Immigrant bisexual muslim gypsies are going to steal your children and make them prostitutes.
In the world of blogs, of course, we don't need no stinkeen deadlines. If we ain't got nothing to say, we don't have to say it. Of course the problem with many blogs is that people can't stop themselves, but that's down to the individual. Better to remain silent and be thought to waste your own time and everyone else's than to pad it out to 800 words and remove all doubt.
[1] Although I have a twist that would make this story doable. You go to the Council and ask for a copy of the form that the people sent in. Then you confront them with it and say "Look you twats, you wrote your fucking budgie down on the form. What did you think would happen ? Now stop wasting our time".
Wouldn't it be great on the TV news if they did about five minutes and then said "Well, frankly that's it. We did have a story about a budgie being sent a voting card [1] but we figured if that was the best we could do then why bother. Now here's a cartoon". Or in the papers, on page 8 it could say "Well there isn't really any more news. Here's twenty pages of Keira Knightley in a bikini". Hang on, that is what most of them do, come to think of it. But no. Quantity prevails over quality and people have to write a load of shite about stuff that no one cares about. And to make people read it, they have to pretend that it is important. Worst of all, the best way to make it seem important is to frighten people. Bird flu will kill millions. Every time you board a plane it's half full of shoe bombers. Immigrant bisexual muslim gypsies are going to steal your children and make them prostitutes.
In the world of blogs, of course, we don't need no stinkeen deadlines. If we ain't got nothing to say, we don't have to say it. Of course the problem with many blogs is that people can't stop themselves, but that's down to the individual. Better to remain silent and be thought to waste your own time and everyone else's than to pad it out to 800 words and remove all doubt.
[1] Although I have a twist that would make this story doable. You go to the Council and ask for a copy of the form that the people sent in. Then you confront them with it and say "Look you twats, you wrote your fucking budgie down on the form. What did you think would happen ? Now stop wasting our time".
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