Self-Indulgence Sunday: Talking Out of Both Sides of My Mouth
by Benjamin Massey on Mar 20, 2011 2:29 PM PDT
in Self-Indulgence Sunday
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PrintNot so long ago, I was having a conversation about quite an old article I wrote. There were a few mistakes in that article, to put it diplomatically. To put it less diplomatically, it was really crappy. I'm-glad-nobody-noticed-it-when-I-wrote-it crappy. I was, of course, joking self-deprecatingly about it because I do that a lot. Besides, I said. Sure it sucks, but I'm just a crappy blogger. I sit in my dingy little apartment and churn out garbage, sometimes without even proof-reading it, because I enjoy it and because somehow, through sheer good fortune, I accidentally write something insightful or funny. Nobody takes me seriously, least of all myself!
Anyway, yesterday I went to the Vancouver Whitecaps game, flashed my press pass like a professional, and squeezed into the press box. And as I did so, I found myself thinking: am I being dishonest or what?
I mean, when I'm dealing with the Whitecaps (or FC Edmonton, or the Victoria Highlanders, or WSA Winnipeg, or any other of the merest handful of professionals I've dealt with in my time writing here) I pretend to be serious. My e-mails have a lovely little signature at the bottom; "Benjamin Massey: Manager, Eighty Six Forever", with a logo and my cell phone number. I go through official channels, I try to sound like I know what I'm doing. I do this because I want a WSA Winnipeg executive to give me an interview, or because I want an update on FC Edmonton's season ticket sales, or because I want the world from the Whitecaps. While those conversations are going on, I cross my fingers that they don't actually read my website or they might see what an idiot I am.
It really is talking from both sides of my mouth. Trading on my alleged respectability to try and get information and perks, while saying "I'm just some goofball and have never pretended to be anything else" to justify erratic article quality. I suppose it's better than some full-time reporters I could name, who don't even try to justify erratic article quality. I mean, if nothing else a blogger with another full-time job is always going to be limited by the number of hours in the day. I deliberately pursue an "outsider's perspective" when I write, partially because that's what I enjoy reading and partially because that's what I'm good at (I'm going to go into full Whitecaps Investigative Reporter mode in a city with Marc Weber and Bruce Constantineau working the Whitecaps beat full-time? Really?). I think that's a perfectly valid attitude to take, but that doesn't mean I can use it as a crutch when I screw up.
It just feels like an inherently dishonest situation. I am by no means the only blogger in the world who does this; in fact, I bet the majority of bloggers who make any contact with the organizations they cover do the same thing. I'm not sure what my point is here. I'm not sure I have a point (that's why it says "Self-Indulgence Sunday"). It's just something that's been on my mind. What's the line between "professional" and "amateur", between "silly" and "serious"? Is it possible to draw such a line? If it is possible, should one try to straddle either side of it?
I have no conclusions.
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The line between professional and amateur is whether you're being paid for your time.
If you’re getting paid to write, you’re doing it professionally. If not, you’re doing it as an amateur. There’s no blurring of the line there.
Though I’m a university student, I’m paid to work at the student newspaper, which makes me a professional. I’m liable to get sued if I write something libelous, my reputation is at stake with my work, and my particular paper has a circulation of thousands and thousands of copies. We’re all students there, but every one of us has to approach our job with the attitude of a professional.
When I write for Stumptown Footy, where I’m not paid and I’m doing it for kicks, I consider that work to be amateur. I also let myself have more fun and take a more lighthearted approach there, but I still treat my work seriously, because I want to be a journalist when I get into the real world, and I like having the experience of being able to analyze a professional sports team. Still, there’s far fewer constraints on my work there, and what I do there reflects what I want to do as a writer.
The line between silly and serious is far less defined than the one between professional work and amateur work. It really depends on the subject matter, the audience, and what you want your work to look like. You already said you didn’t want to be a beat writer, because there are others who would do the job better. Find your niche, work in it and exploit it for your own good. If you think you need to have a good working relationship with the Whitecaps or any other Canadian soccer team, do it. If you think your blog can be good without having those contacts, then don’t pursue them.
Everything you talk about in your post has to do with your own perception of your work and your thoughts of others’ perceptions of your work. Really, you just have to figure out what you want to get from being a blogger, and go with it. If you want to provide professional-level insight, even from a fan’s perspective, you’re going to need to keep those professional contacts, use those press passes and take your work somewhat seriously. If you want to be a fan who goes to the games, take your writing less seriously and have more fun with what you do.
The question is: What do you want to get from being a blogger? It’s a question I’ve asked myself quite a few times about journalism as a whole, and it’s what I’ve asked myself about blogging for Stumptown Footy.
(For what it’s worth, I want to get more experience as a writer and get myself networked so that when I am no longer in school, I know what I’m doing as I enter the workforce. I’m a copy editor by trade, as I’ve done that job for going on two school years now.)
I write for Stumptown Footy, SB Nation's Portland Timbers blog.
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