He Said, She Said - Battle of the Words

When I was reading this article, I immediately thought of how many times I have seen this in the news, but I just have never thought about it. It seems to be happening all the time, and people are just drawn to this type of "news." Here we have one side of the story, published, and then the other side is offended. In the next paper, we have an article from the other side, slamming what was said in the previous day's paper. It goes back and forth, and what I started to think about is: why?

I have noticed that I have been around a lot of people who may not get along. It may be in the classroom where students are forced to work together, or maybe at work where employees are at each other's throats. One little pin drop, and it's all over. One person can give the other an uneasy look, all of a sudden the verbal daggers start flying across the room. One is shouting out obscenities while the other one is chanting a non-stop "let's take this outside" scream to the door. Where do I happen to be during all of this? Most of the time I find that I am in the middle, or very close to the fight.

So why is this? I think that as humans, we are attracted to violence and fighting, whether it be actual fist-to-face connections, or if it is just a long, verbal confrontation, where screams and obscenities are heard from afar. I believe the same goes with our news, and what we really want to read about. The readers are the one's who ultimately control what is published, mainly because you want to write to your audience. You are always seeing celebrities (Lindsay Lohan & her father, Tori Spelling & her mother) in a "he said, she said" battle in the media. After we read the articles, we always have a negative opinion, but yet we still read the article, didn't we? More than likely, we are looking forward to see how the other side will respond later, as well.

So what happens to the writer caught in the middle? What do you write? Do you focus on one side, and then completely ignore the other side? Thinking back to my journalism classes, I remember the ethics portion, and of course all of the liability issues. If you are the writer stuck in that situation, make sure that you are cautious about what you write. If you make sure to cover all of the bases, and your own behind, then you should be able to write a fair, un-biased article. However, we know, no matter what we write, you will never make everyone happy. As long as you make sure you have good quotes from the people debating, then you should be alright.

When you think about it, it might be a little intimidating. I know that I wouldn't want to have to make the decision of what gets printed and what doesn't in a "he said, she said" debate. However, sometimes you get thrown into those situations, and you can't choose to just ignore the story. You have to write up something. That is where you judgment comes into play. Also, on the bright side, if you have an article that has the "he said, she said" element, you should realize that many people will read it. That might put some pressure on you, but it may also help your career. It all depends on how stable you feel on shaky ground. Do you stay away from the debating article so you don't have to make complicated decisions, or do you step on some toes in the hopes that your career might blossom from your article? That is just something the writer would have to decide on.