No Way with the Conceit of I’s

For Article: The Rocky's New Capitol Blog: 6 Easy Fixes
E-Media Tidbits
Poynter Institute
Posted by Jane Abao 1/16/2008 8:57:44 PM

First person, Amy? I think it’s the other way around. The first thing I tell my students is to shun away from writing in the first person – if they have to be reporting. Unless the material is an eye-witness report, writing in the first person is a habit of amateur writers. It shifts attention away from the topic and on to the source. That is as far as professional journalism is concerned – unless you want it down to the blogging level where materials are normally peppered with a lot of “I’s.” This mode tends to make the source report out of his own perspective rather than reproduce the event in as objective a manner as he could.