Re: TI Editor's Letter

["Stephanie M. Thorson" <smt2@st-andrews.ac.uk>]

Poster: "Stephanie M. Thorson" <smt2@st-andrews.ac.uk>

On Fri, 7 Nov 1997, Julien de Montfort wrote (responding to me):

> > While you do have a point about that, I think the real issue is about
> > appropriateness.  The TI editor's page is not an appropriate forum for the
> > editor to tell cute stories about her child, no matter how cute the
> > stories may be.  In an editorial, one expects to hear the editor
> 
> Actually, the deal of whether or not the Editor puts her charmingly
> sweet stories about her children in the Editor's Page doesn't make
> much difference to me one way or the other.  However, just to throw in
> an opposing view, it always struck me that as the editor, you could
> say what you wanted to on an editor's page -- it was kind of like the
> little perk you get with the job.  

In Real World Journalism <tm>, that is emphatically untrue.  The editor's
writings are absolutely supposed to be relevant to the forum and anything
else is considered highly unprofessional.  (Been there, done that, glad to
be on to other things). 

Now, of course one may argue that TI is not produced by or for
professionals, and that is very true.  However, I think my point about
choice of forum - id est, telling your stories in a place *appropriate* to
them, still holds.  TI does not exist as a forum for generalised stories
about children, cats, cattle or cockatoos.  Therefore it is an
inappropriate place for such storytelling, unless those stories pertain
directly to SCA activities. 

> True, usually it deals with issues
> relevent, but really, does it make any difference?  If she posted an
> article there on her editor's page that was relevant to the Society at
> large, would it carry more weight than say, any of the letters
> reprinted in the feedback section?  I'd say not.

Well, since when has any given editorial held more weight than any given
letter to the editor?  That's not the issue at hand here.  I could post a
very long lecture on the concept of appropriateness and the fact that one
of the great differences between mediaeval and modern thought is the loss
of that very idea, but it's late enough and I'm tired enough that I won't. 

Alianora
*****************************************************************************
Stephanie M. Thorson			|  SCA: Lady Alianora Munro
Dept. of Scottish History		|  Clan White Wing
University of St Andrews		|  Tarkhan, Khanate Red Lion


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