THE explosion of online publishing has seen a breed that knows little or nothing about journalism assume posts as editors, writers, and so on.<\/p>\n
But when one comes to such positions without understanding the finer points of the craft – as those who have either worked for, or been trained in, full-time publishing ventures do – the danger of overstepping one’s bounds is very real.<\/p>\n
Writing is a tricky business: English is a highly ambiguous language. That is just the beginning of the area where one can sink.
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\nThere is also the area of where one draws the line – there are very real laws against defaming and libelling people. Even veterans of journalism sometimes go a mite over the line and face problems.<\/p>\n
There are some writers who make a habit of pushing the envelope – here, their editors have to serve as the sluice gates and reduce the chances of a legal issue arising.<\/p>\n
In other cases, the editor should decide what is relevant to the story and not invade other areas which do not impact on the topic under consideration.<\/p>\n
Caleb Hannan, a writer for Grantland, an online website that concerns itself with sport, and is affiliated with the ESPN sports network, appears to have made a habit of going too far, with disastrous results<\/strong><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Recently, Hannan wrote a piece<\/strong><\/a> about the development of a golf club – and ventured into the background of the person behind the club, discovering that it was a transgender individual. A few days after publication, the transgender person committed suicide.<\/p>\n Hannan’s editor-in-chief (yeah, he’s that high up) Bill Simmons made a long explanation<\/strong><\/a> after the deed was done. And the site also ran a guest editorial<\/strong><\/a> detailing the problems with the piece.<\/p>\n The whole business is one that resembles a situation that would eventuate if a butcher was doing a tailor’s job: these people have little idea about journalism, they are just amateurs with great titles.<\/p>\n It’s a timely warning to all those who think they can publish and be damned.
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