Story Telling

There's more than one way to tell a story.

   Good story tellers know their audience, so they shape the story so it has more appeal to the target audience.
   Comedians do this. Playwrights do it. Sports writers do it, slanting their phrasing to feature the home team. Political candidates do it, stressing certain policy points according to where they are and who they're talking to.
   In the corporate world, that's called marketing and public relations, shaping the message for the most favorable appeal.
   Journalists resent terms like bias and prejudice, which have negative connotations, but instead use words like angle, slant and perspective, which they perceive as neutral.
   The reality, however, is that every story, whether fiction, drama, history, comedy or journalistic, is written from a perspective or angle, and is aimed at satisfying the emotional or intellectual needs and desires of an audience or readership.
   Those who disagree with the treatment of a story are quick to dismiss it by labeling it as biased, prejudiced or simply wrong.
   Disagreement doesn't always mean the other side is wrong and therefore evil.
   Don't say "You're wrong." Instead, say "I disagree." For journalists, moreover, it's better to quote Speaker One, then provide evidence and information from Source Two, and readers decide who's wrong.