On Harry Potter and Comprehensive News

     One thing I have noticed is that people often seem to know when you are being honest. When a person talks or writes without sincerity, people often have an indefinable suspicion about them. On the other hand, people respond to emotion. Now the exact nature of that response varies, but people tend to like honesty in a writer. I liked the quote by Kovach and Rosenstiel, "People do not expect perfection. They do expect good intentions" (213). My Honors Writing class had a discussion about this issue. One of my classmates said that, in Men's Chorus, they were always urged to "Be what you are." I think that can hardly be a bad attitude to take with regards to hype.
     I think that "proportional and comprehensive" news will take a lot of courage on the part of journalists. The news has largely build itself into the niche of only being for some people. I know this refers to British journalism, but I am reminded of Harry Potter, when Harry is afraid to interrupt Hagrid's newspaper-reading due to experiences with Uncle Vernon. Like many people, Harry felt that reading a newspaper was for the bigger (faster, stronger, better?) in society. Why is this? Because newspapers are not always comprehensive and proportional.
    I remember once mentioning to my mother that J.K. Rowling should really keep writing, as people would certainly buy and read her books. My mother replied, "Do you think she wrote Harry Potter for the money, or because she had a story to tell?" I will let J.K. Rowling answer herself, "This one thing in my life I believed. I believed I could tell a story." A writer should write because they have to tell their stories. I think that is how a journalist should be: out in the community finding stories which simply have to be told. Then the hype will make itself.