Journalism is not PR

Complaints about language are increasingly common sights on social media. The sensitivity around word choices reaches dizzy new heights every day, and there was one particular outcry that pushed me to dust off this old blog and scribe my thoughts.

Here’s a link — https://www.linkedin.com/posts/laurenpaton_ok-yes-theyve-changed-it-now-but-no-one-activity-7022154355017412608-UVX9?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Yesterday I saw dozens of posts that were bursting with incandescence and demanded the BBC change a headline because it was so offensive. The comments inevitably bleated support, condemning the writer, and riling up other onlookers to contact the BBC to instigate an edit.

For those of you who haven’t clicked the link, the headline reads:

‘Jacinda Ardern resigns: Can women really have it all?’

Now, I could use this post to discuss whether these words are hateful and sexist or not, but that’s a bit too obvious and that drum has been banged too many times, to too many deaf ears. Instead, I’d like to focus on the notion that principally, journalists ought to be left alone to write as they wish without fear of a mob forcing a change.

I’m not opposing criticism of journalistic work nor am I opposing public debate on published materials. I am, however, worried about the idea that readers are able to exert such power over the writer as to edit his or her work so that it suits their taste. Incidentally, the writer of this piece was in fact…