Media Notes: “Blind Items” – Why I’m Writing a New Book
First, “Blind Items.” They are the most controversial piece of journalism. A blind item is when a reporter or columnist alleges an act or action by an unidentified person characterized as a member of a group involved in some specified professions without identifying them.
A fictional example: A columnist asks, “What famous member of the Channel ? News Team was seen frequenting a strip bar?
This is a scurrilous blind item which tars and feathers ALL members of that News Team, and leads people to have suspicions about ALL of them.
Another type of blind item: What member of the town council is cheating on his wife?
What a scam. The writer then puts ALL the members of the town council under suspicion.
Blind items, used frequently recently in gossip columns and web broadcasts in Philadelphia, are as cheap as you can get. They hurt people and their families.
Why, just a while ago a Daily News gossip writer suggested that two Inky employees were trying to get it on in or near the newsroom. That “blind item” upset spouses of many INKY employees. Why did the gossip man find it necessary to possibly tag ALL Inky employees by writing a blind item about the actions of a few. That is not journalism –that’s trash.
This is one of the reasons the work on my novel about media, murder, politics and law is going a bit slower than I expected. The new breed of journalists in this town are giving me so many fresh angles with their antics that the book gets longer and longer.
Note to that great team of “fans” who take part in the blog. Sorry I’ve been writing infrequently, but I’ve been busy. If you don’t like what you see, keep complaining, but again – no dirt and no racial or religious sentiments. Otherwise, I might ban you for life.
Comments(61)
