Consistently Inconsistent

In the latest issue of Editor & Publisher, a headline asks the question "The End of 'Objectivity' in New Journalism Era: A Good Thing?" Starting the article with the supposition that there ever was a golden age of objectivity in the press is questionable.

But the author brings up a very important point about a new dilemma facing reporters. He describes a quite common situation in which a journalist is asked to blog about his beat on top of writing daily articles for the print and Web editions. Beyond the workload concern (a topic for another post) is the issue of tone.

Editors tend to like blog posts to be more informal. Fine. Nothing wrong with engaging with your readers in a different style. But there are often expectations that the blogger will include opinions. Therein lies the trouble. If you're asked to play it like Brokaw in print and like Olbermann online (I realize I'm mixing mediums in my metaphor), how do you reconcile your two voices?

I'm a stickler for consistency. Hire a reporter. Hire a columnist. Hire a blogger whose job duties are well defined. It's the middle ground that's dangerous -- editors sending mixed messages to writers about what tone they expect. Or perhaps it's the problem of sending no message at all. "Why don't you start a blog?" is analogous to saying "Why don't you throw up content on the Web." Without direction, the reporter is left guessing.

All this isn't to say that journalists shouldn't be able to vary their styles depending on audience and subject. Casual writing is more a part of the profession now than ever. Edgy is expected, but editorializing still comes with its consequences. Sources on the beat don't -- and shouldn't -- separate the blog persona from the print/online news persona. An off-colored joke won't soon be forgotten. Put another way, Olbermann doesn't face the newsmakers he rants about the morning after.

We're not going back to the era of "and that's the way it is." Some journalists seek out the forum to express their opinions; some would rather write in latin than use the word "I." My concern is for the large group in the middle who are often caught in a world of unclear and inconsistent expectations.