Journalistic Art

There is a real art to journalism. In truth, I never really noticed it until recently, but as I have read more and more articles written by men and women of my generation, I have come to notice that the style has changed in the most drastic of ways, yet all the while pushing as little of that change out into your face. It is a very quiet transition, but it's there all the same, and the difference in quality is unmeasurable.

You see, today, it is almost impossible to be a successful journalist and not have a sense of humour. The world is a terrible place, and it is only getting worse. People need to pick up on subtle humour. The true power of being a journalist, however, does not come in their ability to be funny. Not at all. It comes entirely on their ability to perceive what is, and what isn't funny. They do not write in an amusing manner. They almost never insert jokes. More than that, they manage to keep the tone of their pieces so calm it is almost bland. No, their humour, their jokes, they all come from perception.

Just open up the internet and skim through a few articles on any website. You should notice the same thing as I do. Almost every piece that isn't about a disaster is about something terribly stupid that has happened. Yet, the reporters present it as if it is a completely normal event. They just send you the facts, quite possibly mixed in with a little political affiliation. Other than that, it's just information. Yet why do we smile? Because the author of the piece knows how stupid the article is, how stupid the people involved are, and just how ridiculous the world is becoming. This is where true art is born; in observation. They see what is insane, and then write what I never could; a completely monotoned piece with as little bias as possible.

Then the art begins to grow. People like me read the article, and write an article about the article. I think this must be the goal of many journalists; to write something so perfectly, so beautifully, that someone can take what they have written, see all the humour that they themselves as the researcher of the original piece saw, and then have that complete stranger write an entirely different piece blatantly pointing out all those ridiculous jokes.

So, I put my hands together for all you journalists out there. Keep it up. You are the birthplace of modern comedy.