One of the things I wanted to discover when I ran a seminar on the history of the newspaper, is where this idea of "balance" came from. It's not there at all in the beginning of newspapers, or even in the middle. I think it's a rather strange idea, one which I went along with when I worked for a newspaper, but the editor was constantly reminding me how the rules go. My version of things was no doubt derived from E.H. Carr--there are no "balanced" or "objective" historians; you read the historian and then you are in a position to read the history. The journalist selects evidence, why pretend otherwise? There are rules of interpretation, but this business of "balance" is kind of strange.
David Ritchie, wondering whether "five cents worth" is a credit or a debit in Portland, Oregon ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
