Woah, I am not getting a good feeling.
Sometimes, I do, most of the time of I do, when it comes to reading about other journalists story work for newspaper, magazines or online outlets.
However, two weeks ago I came across Electronic Dance Music (EDM) artist Avicii’s status update regarding a GQ article by a freelance journalist who followed her throughout a couple performances and festivals, I do not.
I became overwhelmed with mixed emotions about the journalism field that is today, and moreover the importance of people doing their job appropriately and properly as they should.
“GQ, my thoughts on the article. I would normally not even care but this article really got to me, how it could even be published with so little truth and misquotations,” Avicii started off her update with, before going one to set the context of her argument.
Much like what I am doing now, she set the context, by explaining that a freelance reporter, Jessica Pressler, followed her and her crew for four to five days while she was on tour, up until new years.
Avicii then went on to describe her thoughts on the word of Pressler in her article, which encompassed claims of incorrectly labeling her fans as “douchebags,” contradicting herself on describing how she arranges and performs his lives sets and the simple mistakes she made, such as incorrectly naming tracks.
“I wouldn’t address this and bring more attention to it if I really didn’t feel that this article was truly unfair and incorrect,” Avicii said. “She draws up this disgusting picture of the electronic music crowd being constantly high, ugly, uneducated, dumb and “douchy”, while I feel they are caring, loving, positive and the complete opposite of what she says.
“Sure people do drugs and party but that is nothing exclusive to this music genre,” Avicii furthered her claim with. “It looks like the journalist wanted the GQ readers to buy into that stigma.”
“We hoped they could unveil and communicate the reason for there being so much love within, and how such a great community has risen organically for, this music genre,” Avicii lastly said. “The problem was that a journalist that knows nothing of electronic music was sent to be on the road with me for a couple of days and then tried piecing together what it’s all about. She failed miserably.”
And that’s where I don’t get that good feeling.
As a journalist I can understand where Avicii is coming from and agree with her.
Having read the article, although Pressler is writing a feature story for a feature magazine, as opposed to a “hard news” story or outlet that requires strictly facts, and is allowed to take some personal liberties in describing and expressing what happened, through words, I don’t think she does so fairly.
Having read the first two pages, I do not think that her depictions of events are entirely wrong, as I have been to a rave during my study abroad trip in London, but she does not provide the proper contextual framework for the story that she appears to be attempting to write, which is a look at Avicii’s life and career that has taken off just as quickly as the EDM genre has.
Her depiction and writing is entertaining and draws me into the career of Avicii, and what it entails, but not so much his life. Her angle is not clear, inappropriate then for anything she is trying to “inform” (as that’s what the ultimate purpose of journalism is) about Avicii and doesn’t do any justice with this piece.
Now, as a heart throbbing journalist willing to push this heart through any asthma or pollen infested (no pun intended) situation, not accurately, objectively and fairly reporting an event or series of events grinds my gears more than Facilities inability to maintain proper air conditioning levels. What?
And that’s what Pressler did.
Now, as a hardworking individual that feels that if somebody is going to do something, they might as well do it right and to the fullest possibility that they can, and that doing some incorrectly, and then also having that incorrect job upset others, is about the worst thing anyone could do, not fully doing the job that someone has been set out to do sniffles my nose more than Keanu Reeves performance in Hardball.
Because if you’re not going to do something right, then what’s the point of doing something at all? If you’re not doing something that has an end goal that is right, and going to make the world a better place, there is no point. Unfortunately, I hate to say it, as I say it rarely with my beliefs that everything happens for a reason, the world would be a better place without it.
Whether you are a journalist, coal worker or stock broker, make sure that when you set out to do the job that you are going to do it correctly. That you are going to do it well and better than many others could ever do.
Mistakes happen, and it’s alright that things are not perfect the first time they come around, but for the fields of journalism, or any other field that produces product that do need perfection, otherwise a mistake can’t be taken back, make sure that you are going to make it worth it.
Especially in the professional world, where people are paid, and a lot of time and effort is put into things, because, well, that’s all people do in the professional field. They are professionals, they solely focus on what it is they are doing, because they are the best at it.
We fortunately as college students don’t have to necessarily worry about that. While making sure we do everything right and to the best of our ability, we have the opportunity to explore our options, and get involved with something that we may not necessarily be the best at.
That is what college is for, that is why we are all here.
For the case of Pressler, she is out in the professional world, again getting paid for her services. She certainly can write about whatever she wanted to, as a freelance journalist, but I will say that she shouldn’t.
As Avicii said, it appears that “a journalist that knows nothing of electronic music was sent to be on the road with me for a couple of days and then tried piecing together what it’s all about.” We can try to go out on the road with anything we’d like and together what it’s all about the best we can, and should, because it won’t be long before we can’t. Because if we do, we may do more damage than good, and, ain’t nobody got time for that.