Word
A journalist never should be suffered to feel loved by his audience. Feeling loved is potent. So is feeling rich. Even the strongest, unknowingly, will bend to what will keep the feeling alive.
A journalist should be, at best, respected. So that one faction, gloating over his evisceration of their mortal enemies, know in their hearts, "He would treat us the same, if he discovered our crimes."
It was famously said of a politician, "We love him for the enemies he has made." It was an unworthy enkōmion for that or any politician. In journalism, however, the enemies one makes are proof of professional integrity. But the reaction is not "love."
To be loved? No, never. To be feared and respected, always. A journalist should embrace the pariah role. Unbribability only can be proven by poverty.
A journalist should be, at best, respected. So that one faction, gloating over his evisceration of their mortal enemies, know in their hearts, "He would treat us the same, if he discovered our crimes."
It was famously said of a politician, "We love him for the enemies he has made." It was an unworthy enkōmion for that or any politician. In journalism, however, the enemies one makes are proof of professional integrity. But the reaction is not "love."
To be loved? No, never. To be feared and respected, always. A journalist should embrace the pariah role. Unbribability only can be proven by poverty.
