[HN Gopher] Your Success Is Not a Story
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       Your Success Is Not a Story
        
       Author : ryannevius
       Score  : 8 points
       Date   : 2021-01-31 21:42 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (taylorlorenz.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (taylorlorenz.substack.com)
        
       | herewegoagain2 wrote:
       | Why you shouldn't read the news. They always want to create
       | narratives and drama. And reshape how people see the world. Don't
       | let journalists shape your view of the world.
        
         | gumby wrote:
         | Sounds cynical, but I have to admit I agree.
         | 
         | My favorite kind of article is "X happened, here are some
         | relevant circumstances, author (or ppl author spoke with) think
         | significance and possible consequences are Y"
         | 
         | Next favorite is "X happened" sometimes with a little context.
         | 
         | Least favorite "Here's some stuff about person Z who had some
         | exciting circumstances C. Along they way Z invented /
         | discovered X." Either finishing there or "X will transform
         | society, rendering it unrecognizable within three years.
         | Meanwhile, Z is considering becoming a vegetarian and is also
         | getting married within those exciting three years."
         | 
         | Needless to say that least favorite is the most common. Even a
         | listicle is better.
        
         | whoknew1122 wrote:
         | Everything in context. This was written by a journalist who
         | writes specifically about _internet culture_.[1] The job of a
         | cultural writer or critic is to provide alternate ideas to help
         | broaden and shape your view of the world.
         | 
         | This wasn't written by Woodward and Bernstein, or some hard-
         | hitting give-me-the-facts-only political or business reporter.
         | It's written by someone who specifically writes about culture.
         | She writes the following:
         | 
         | > "Unless your story ties into some larger cultural trend, or
         | holds some type of important wider significance, I am not
         | interested in covering it. And frankly, it's not newsworthy."
         | 
         | If the story being pitched doesn't tie into a larger cultural
         | trend, it's not worth covering by a _culture reporter_.
         | 
         | Someone's success can be newsworthy, but it has to impact the
         | larger culture to be relevant to a reporter who specifically
         | writes about culture.
         | 
         | [1] https://www.nytimes.com/by/taylor-lorenz
        
           | JasonFruit wrote:
           | Comments on the article from other journalists position it
           | as, "and we all feel this way." Whether or not it was
           | intended as a representation of journalistic attitudes in
           | general, it has been upheld as one by other journalists.
        
         | bjelkeman-again wrote:
         | There is in my view quite a big difference in journalism
         | culture around the world. I personally dislike the US style of
         | every piece having to be a narrative before it gets to the meat
         | of the story. Give me the news up front, then I can dive down
         | deeper if I am interested.
        
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       (page generated 2021-01-31 23:01 UTC)