Grumpy Goers Flogs a Dead HorseStatus: Annoyed. (That tends to happen a lot huh? Then again, I wouldn't get so annoyed if people weren't so God damn stupid.)
Music: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin
What’s more annoying than reading a newspaper article expressing subjective opinions as fact or fence-sitting on an issue?
Reading a newspaper article that has absolutely no point at all.
This week’s issue of Sunday Mail asked “Is no one safe?” regarding Peter Goers’ opinion piece about the things he doesn’t care for. With a question like that printed on the front page enticing the reader to read further, I thought maybe there would be some point or bite to the column – a controversy about global warming or even a comment or two about Australian politicians that share the physical resemblance of the character Mr./Mrs. Garrison from South Park.
Usually when I read Peter Goer’s column, the man makes one or two decent points. And when I read an opinion piece, I expect to find... well, an opinion. What I read today wasn’t so much an opinion piece as a hissy fit. If I wanted to read someone’s hissy fit list of “Things I Don’t Like”, I could have just googled a MySpace blog about PMS from the viewpoint of some angsty 15-year-old.
Throwing together one-sentence nothings expressing ideas that the majority of the population already agrees with, with no real sense of flow or continuity, is not an ‘opinion piece’. And it certainly didn’t warrant being publicised on the front and back page of the newspaper. Regurgitating what has all been said before without any depth or reason? Seriously, shame on you, Peter Goers.
If all you’re going to do for an opinion piece is repeat what everyone else seems to be saying or thinking, why not reveal the shocking truth that Michael Jackson may have undergone plastic surgery on his nose while you’re at it?
Here’s one example: I find it cowardly that so many people are dragging Nicole Kidman’s name through the mud. “Box-office poison”? I’m not even a big Kidman fan, but I still find it shallow that the same people jumping on the “Nic off Nicole” band-wagon weren’t dishing dirt on the actress when the films Moulin Rouge! and The Hours were receiving praise. Enough already. There are far worse actresses in the world and it’s a shame that the media gets a buzz out of kick around one of the few who’ll take it graciously in her stride rather than bite back. (Bets are on that Nicole would more than likely get slandered for standing up for herself if she ever did.)
Something even mildly controversial or questionable – the opinion that you think Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven is overrated or the opinion that you consider Heath Ledger’s Oscar win based more on sympathy rather than the man’s actual performance - would have been interesting.
The point of an opinion piece isn’t so much to be politically correct or likable; an opinion piece is supposed to make the reader think. But hey, it’s much easier to bleat with the herd than to actually voice an opinion on your own, right?
What annoyed me even more about the article was that it not only made slander of easy pickings – we all know Angelina Jolie collects children like postage stamps, Pauline Hanson is an opinionated bigot who has yet to say anything of any use whatsoever and I have yet to meet a single person who would complimentary describe Lleyton Hewitt’s personality – but it also didn’t give any reasons for the statements made, offering the ever-so-helpful prefix of “I don’t care for” for practically every paragraph.
I’m not a particularly big fan of Oprah Winfrey. I dislike Oprah for slandering real psychological practice by having a hand in selling Dr. Phil’s conservative views as psychology to the gullible. And I don’t think one person should be given that much wealth and power for inviting other rich, powerful people on her talk show. Plus, any woman who truly believes she needs a gold-rimmed toilet seat and matching golden shower fixtures is obviously bonkers and in need of some help.
Ok, there’s my opinion. Now let’s actually hear yours.
Obviously the standards of journalism and opinion piece publication have slipped, yet no one quite seems to get the messages that if you can’t write anything useful, don’t write anything at all.
If all it takes to be a columnist is the occasional immature rant, then consider this spat proof of my literary genius.
Music: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin
What’s more annoying than reading a newspaper article expressing subjective opinions as fact or fence-sitting on an issue?
Reading a newspaper article that has absolutely no point at all.
This week’s issue of Sunday Mail asked “Is no one safe?” regarding Peter Goers’ opinion piece about the things he doesn’t care for. With a question like that printed on the front page enticing the reader to read further, I thought maybe there would be some point or bite to the column – a controversy about global warming or even a comment or two about Australian politicians that share the physical resemblance of the character Mr./Mrs. Garrison from South Park.
Usually when I read Peter Goer’s column, the man makes one or two decent points. And when I read an opinion piece, I expect to find... well, an opinion. What I read today wasn’t so much an opinion piece as a hissy fit. If I wanted to read someone’s hissy fit list of “Things I Don’t Like”, I could have just googled a MySpace blog about PMS from the viewpoint of some angsty 15-year-old.
Throwing together one-sentence nothings expressing ideas that the majority of the population already agrees with, with no real sense of flow or continuity, is not an ‘opinion piece’. And it certainly didn’t warrant being publicised on the front and back page of the newspaper. Regurgitating what has all been said before without any depth or reason? Seriously, shame on you, Peter Goers.
If all you’re going to do for an opinion piece is repeat what everyone else seems to be saying or thinking, why not reveal the shocking truth that Michael Jackson may have undergone plastic surgery on his nose while you’re at it?
Here’s one example: I find it cowardly that so many people are dragging Nicole Kidman’s name through the mud. “Box-office poison”? I’m not even a big Kidman fan, but I still find it shallow that the same people jumping on the “Nic off Nicole” band-wagon weren’t dishing dirt on the actress when the films Moulin Rouge! and The Hours were receiving praise. Enough already. There are far worse actresses in the world and it’s a shame that the media gets a buzz out of kick around one of the few who’ll take it graciously in her stride rather than bite back. (Bets are on that Nicole would more than likely get slandered for standing up for herself if she ever did.)
Something even mildly controversial or questionable – the opinion that you think Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven is overrated or the opinion that you consider Heath Ledger’s Oscar win based more on sympathy rather than the man’s actual performance - would have been interesting.
The point of an opinion piece isn’t so much to be politically correct or likable; an opinion piece is supposed to make the reader think. But hey, it’s much easier to bleat with the herd than to actually voice an opinion on your own, right?
What annoyed me even more about the article was that it not only made slander of easy pickings – we all know Angelina Jolie collects children like postage stamps, Pauline Hanson is an opinionated bigot who has yet to say anything of any use whatsoever and I have yet to meet a single person who would complimentary describe Lleyton Hewitt’s personality – but it also didn’t give any reasons for the statements made, offering the ever-so-helpful prefix of “I don’t care for” for practically every paragraph.
I’m not a particularly big fan of Oprah Winfrey. I dislike Oprah for slandering real psychological practice by having a hand in selling Dr. Phil’s conservative views as psychology to the gullible. And I don’t think one person should be given that much wealth and power for inviting other rich, powerful people on her talk show. Plus, any woman who truly believes she needs a gold-rimmed toilet seat and matching golden shower fixtures is obviously bonkers and in need of some help.
Ok, there’s my opinion. Now let’s actually hear yours.
Obviously the standards of journalism and opinion piece publication have slipped, yet no one quite seems to get the messages that if you can’t write anything useful, don’t write anything at all.
If all it takes to be a columnist is the occasional immature rant, then consider this spat proof of my literary genius.
