When Everybody's Mad

“One of the supposed golden rules of journalism goes like this: ‘If everybody’s mad at your coverage, you must be doing a good job.’

“That’s ridiculous, of course, though it seems comforting. If everybody’s mad, it may just mean you’re getting everything wrong.

 
“But it’s the kind of muddled thinking that feels right to media people who practice what I’ll call the middle-lane approach to journalism — the smarmy centrism that often benefits nobody, but promises that you won’t offend anyone.” 
 

—Margaret Sullivan, media columnist, “The media feel safest in the middle lane. Just ask Jeff Flake, John Kasich and Howard Schultz,” The Washington Post, Jan. 30, 2019.

• Editorial Comment: On the other hand . . . .

PeezPix

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“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard