I - More than Just the Loneliest Letter

‘I’. It is the simplest letter in the English Language. In its capital form it is a single short or slightly longer stroke sometimes made more flamboyant by the addition of a head and tail. The ninth letter of the alphabet and the third vowel, ‘I’ is at its most powerful when standing proudly by itself unencumbered by the addition of extra baggage such as an ‘S’ a ‘T’ or an ‘F’. ‘I’ is the King of the letters in the great chess set of our language, seemingly innocuous and cumbersome yet at the same time an object of much desire and awe.

In it’s individual form, ‘I’ is blandly described by linguists as a ‘personal pronoun’. Yet to pigeon hole this letter in such a way does not do it any justice. To journalists, the simple addition of ‘I’ to a piece of work elevates the article from mere reporting to the far grander and ambitious level of opinion or even editorial. For anyone to deliberately open themselves to the court of public judgement by stating their own beliefs or thoughts is to risk driving a wedge in one’s readership by taking sides.

To write ‘I think’ is even worse. Thinking is not encouraged in much of society for fear of rocking whatever boat is at hand at the time. A journalist that is seen to think is viewed as a dangerous loose cannon by those that wield power, unless that thinking is along the lines of those with said power. Editorials may express an opinion, but unless an ‘I’ is used than there will always be the suspicion that the opinions expressed in the editorial are not necessarily those of the editor, but perhaps of the newspaper proprietor.

Point 4 in the journalists’ code of ethics actively discourages the use of subjective thinking. ‘They shall not allow personal interests to influence them in their professional duties’ it states. Yet aren’t we all the product of our own interests? The very fact that we are interested in them, that we have analysed and studied the subject, learned about it at length and enjoyed or been repulsed by it, implies that we are well positioned to comment on it. The whole fabric of our democratic society is based on making decisions, a freedom that millions have fought and died for. The freedom to write about our interests, to sit in judgement of others is an essential journalistic right.

Everyone is the product of their interests, they influence everything we do. Our interests operate subconsciously and guide us through life. It is impossible to prevent your interests from influencing what you say, think and do.

I am not proposing that reporting the facts of an incident should be embellished by the writer. It is for this very reason that reporting exists, to provide the information that others, including the reporter can use to make their own judgements. But all the best journalism involves a great deal of thinking and draws on a wealth of experience. All the best articles take time to state a case and if not expressly using the personal pronoun it is quite obvious that the piece is from a particular point of view. Personal interests, in their purest sense, when not used for personal gain, should actively be encouraged to form the basis of writing rather than be hidden in a cloak of political correctness and societal norms.

At least I think so.