Stepping naked into the world.

I take pride in being able to write unbiased news stories. Even though I am biased. I am able to set aside my biases. For the sake of being fair. I used to write opinion columns. And news stories at the same time. Editors generally discouraged me from touting my opinions. Because many readers automatically assumed I’d be biased in news stories, too. Even if I wasn’t. Thing is, virtually every writer has biases. Political, economic, social. About the subjects they write about. Any writer that tells you they aren’t biased probably is lying. I’m forthright enough to let people know where I’m coming from. And that I’m fully capable of being fair and balanced in a news story. That’s part of my training as a journalist. Doesn’t necessarily mean that I succeed 100 percent of the time. But I come pretty close. I can write a political story. About an election. And tell readers who I voted for. And still write a fair and objective story on the election. Some political writers brag that they have disenfranchised themselves. They don’t vote. Because they claim that’s the only way to remain unbiased. But believe me, they know who they would have voted for. They have opinions. Which they chose not to share. I prefer  full disclosure. Stepping naked into the world. –Jim Broede