Welcome to the Front Page

This past weekend, I went into New York City. I (unfortunately) wasn't there for the Women's March, but I did get to see and speak with many of the protesters on their way in. I was actually in town to see the Broadway play, "The Front Page", starring Nathan Lane, John Slattery, and John Goodman.

The play is about a journalist who is trying to get married and escape his crazy boss, but he somehow gets pulled into investigating one last story when a man scheduled to be hanged the next morning escapes from jail. It's been adapted into a few movies. My personal favorite version is the movie "His Girl Friday" (where Hildy is played by a woman instead of a man and Cary Grant is the crazy boss). The 1930 version and "His Girl Friday" are both on Amazon Prime and I highly recommend checking them out if you can.

It's interesting to see how a play written nearly 100 years ago still holds up for modern audiences.

The journalists openly admit to writing inflammatory headlines, exaggerating facts, and twisting people's statements just so they can get in edge to sell more newspapers. They compete with each other to get the best scoop for their stories. Politicians in particular are a popular target for the journalists to poke fun at.

That's not to say that the sheriff and mayor in the play don't deserve the nasty things that are being written about them, they do. See they happen to be up for reelection very soon and they want to guarantee as many votes as possible.For example, they scheduled the man to be hung a couple of days right before a major election in the hopes that it would get them more votes. They also do everything in their power to make sure nothing prevents the hanging from happening, including bribing a man, who brings a reprieve for the condemned man, with a position of power in the city.

The journalists are all aware of the mayor and sheriff's motivations, which is a key reason why they enjoy tormenting the sheriff and mayor with their exaggerated stories. They especially love reporting on the incompetence of the sheriff's men, who are mostly made up of the sheriff's family (and were appointed by the sheriff).

The more scandalizing the story on the front page is, the more likely people are going to buy the newspaper. Doesn't this sound familiar?

With social media eclipsing traditionally printed newspapers, the front page stories are the ones we see while scrolling through our Facebook and Twitter feeds. The more the headlines pulls at our emotions, the more likely we are to click on and share them. Journalists know this, so they will purposefully write their headlines in a way that is both eye catching and inciting a power emotional response.

Journalists aren't the only people who can report on current events. Now, anyone can take photos and videos of events and include a brief caption, then share them with millions of people. We have more access to information than ever before and can easily research current events.

And yet, fact checking still remains a huge problem and media bias certainly helped shape this past election. We probably wouldn't have known that Bernie Sanders was running for the DNC if people on social media hadn't rallied behind him. Then there's the media circus surrounding Donald Trump's latest tweet. (Seriously why hasn't someone confiscated his phone yet? It seems like it's going to turn into a huge security risk sooner rather than later.)

There are some who are claiming we now live in a post-fact world, where opinions matter more than factual evidence presented. I'd make a "Whose Line" joke, but personally I find this idea to be unsettling.

The media has always walked a fine line between reporting the facts and sensationalizing a story so they can sell as many papers as possible (or clicks). They are in the business of making money after all. Bias will also always be a problem. That doesn't mean we should disregard the importance of freedom of the press, having evidence based arguments, and challenging those in power.

The biggest thing I took away from seeing "The Front Page", is that even though we the audience know the journalists are purposefully using questionable tactics to sell their papers, we're on their side. We want them to expose the crooked politicians because if the journalists don't, who else will? We want the journalists to get their stories.

And please remember this is my just my opinion. I'm sure somewhere in the dark recesses of the Internet, there's an analysis of this play that says we should really be siding with the crooked politicians.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome to Information Overload

I don't think it's any coincidence that my chosen day job profession is as a Market Researcher. I love doing research and information gathering. I able to learn make better choices.

Of course I might go a little overboard with my research on occasion.

I have a hard time making decisions and choices if I can't count for every possible variable. Since many of these possible variables are unknown, the possible starts to turn into the impossible. It sort of feeds into my own fears and self doubt. It's the primal fear of the unknown (well in my case unknown consequences of my actions).

It doesn't help that in this day in age, there are more sources to obtain information. The Internet is a wonderful tool that allows all of us to find out about obscure facts, the best restaurants, and places to go. We're able to document our experiences and promote the things we like best to a wider audience that generations couldn't. We can do this instantly.

Not only can we find out about world events we might not otherwise hear about on the news or facts that might not be taught in schools, we are also exposed to many new and different opinions. Behind the anonymity of our computer screens, we can engage in discussions that we might not otherwise have participated in.

The Internet often feels like the ultimate freedom of expression.

The downside to all of this information is that it can be overwhelming, easily taken out of context, and extremely misleading. Many of us are already seeing the effects of this.

Bias is always present in any source of information. The phrase "history is written by the winners" can be found in almost every history documentary. Facts and numbers can easily be manipulated to show the outcome that someone wants.

That phrase "there are two sides to every story" has also been tossed around a lot. I think this one in particular is too simplistic for the reality we live in. There are usually dozens of different perspectives each based on past knowledge and future outcomes.

What does this mean for me as a person who needs as much information as possible to make a decision?

Well, it can mean that it takes me far longer than necessary to make choices, perhaps a missed opportunity, and the constant feeling that what ever choice I end up making is the wrong choice. It creates a need for perfection and a fear of failure. It makes me constantly compare myself to my peers and those who have already succeeded, while I hesitate to take the next step in my own life.

There's a lot of information to be gathered. There are a lot of things I still need to learn. I will continue doing research because it's what I do best. However, I'll have to work on stopping myself from becoming overwhelmed by all of it.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome to a Writer's Fear

I would love to one day see myself on a best selling author's list. Or even have a novel or short story I've written turned into a popular movie series. I hope to one day have people look back fondly on my work like I do with stories written by J.K. Rowling and Terry Pratchett.

I know I'm not the only person who has these types of dreams. It doesn't matter if they are about being a writer, a movie maker, a musician, or any other type of creation.

I've been told that I can write well. I've been told I have a wild imagination. I've been told that I am a good story teller. I've been told a lot of things about my writing, nearly all of them good.

Yet there's always this nagging voice in the back of my mind that causes me to doubt myself. Between writer's block and fear that my stories are no where near good enough for strangers to read, I struggle to finish short stories and novels (or if I do finish them, then finishing the rewriting and editing).

I don't make it a secret that I write fan fiction (no not the 50 Shades of Grey kind). It's where I've been experimenting with my style and different genres. I've gotten some great feedback on most of my stories. However, I've stopped rereading them.

Why?

Because when I go back and read those stories, all I see is where I could have improved them. I notice all the small changes that I could have made that would have made my work better. I also start to sometimes think that what I've written is silly and that maybe I shouldn't have posted them at all.

Doubt is my worst enemy.

Even this blog can be a struggle sometimes. I have posted once a week consistently (with one or two skips) since 2013. I've had many posts that I've started and then promptly deleted. There have been many weeks where I've wondered if I should click that "publish" button because once I do, anyone can see it.

 Will people laugh at what I have to say? Am I writing anything worth reading? Is this even good?

Don't get me wrong. I know negative feedback is going to happen. I can't grow as a writer without negative feedback. I just find that there's a difference between being told that a few things in my writing don't work versus being told that what I've written is complete garbage. It's that fear of being complete garbage that always makes me pause (and occasionally ask someone for a second opinion) before hitting that "publish" button.

I've recently joined two writers groups. I've submitted a few samples of my writing and I've gotten the constructive feedback that I need (what does and doesn't work). Each time that it was my turn to submit, I almost said "never mind, I actually don't have anything to share."

Thankfully I didn't back out. I got the feedback that I needed to make improvements to future drafts and I'm looking to publish a short story (more developments to come). It helps my confidence to know that people like some of the things I write.

It might be totally irrational, but one of my biggest fears is that I'm not writing anything worth reading.

Finding that confidence might be the toughest challenge that I face, that or editing. I have very little patience for editing.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome to a New Year!

Happy 2017 everyone!

I don't know if I am the only one who thinks this, but 2016 went by a lot faster than I expected. It was an eventful year for me. Hopefully 2017 slows down a bit (or at least enough for me to notice that two months have gone by). It's funny how time seems to be flying by a lot more quickly since I left school.

Looking back on everything that happened to me in 2016, I would probably say the theme of the year was of becoming a braver person. There were a lot of times where I was really nervous about doing something (like going to Iceland), but had to get over my fears and do it.

The new year is a time to look towards the future. I myself have a very long list of things I would like to do, but in reality probably won't get to for a few years yet. A New Years Resolution might be help me get on track (something like meditate more, keep everything organized, or clean more).

But what is it that I want to accomplish in 2017?

There are many things. I'd love to finish writing my second novel (and perhaps even edit this one too). I'd like to travel more. I'd like to publish a few short stories I've written. I'd like to have fun (but not so much fun that I forget to work hard too). I'd like to meet new people and explore more of the world around me. I'd like to spend some time with family. I want a self cleaning home. There are a lot of things I want from this year.

But there is only so much I can do in a year (same as a life time) and I need to prioritize my needs and wants. Some things I might not get to until 2018. Some things I might never get to (not for lack of trying).

A year seems like a long time, but it isn't really. Hopefully 2017 will be a memorable year full of good times and crazy adventures for all of us.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me. Until next week.