A free spirit. At last.

I have personal biases. Don’t we all? But as a writer. For newspapers.  I generally had to set those biases aside. For the sake of objectivity and fairness.  When writing a news story. The exception might be. In a column. Clearly identified as personal opinion. And even then. That poses a danger. For it raises the legitimate issue. Of whether I could be objective. When writing a news story. About a subject for which I have an opinion.  Believe me. I tried. It’s a tall task.  But that was my obligation.  On some controversial stories. I’d make a rough draft of my story. And bounce it off people on both sides of the issue. And I’d ask them, ‘Am I being fair?’ And I’d be open to suggestions. To make it a better story. In the end, I had to feel that I was being reasonably fair and balanced.  That’s the way I operated.  Not every newspaper reporter will do that. The final draft of my story, however, was seen only by my editor.  I shared early drafts with others. For the sake of accuracy and fairness.  Took me a lifetime. In the news business. To get to that point.  Now that I’m retired. I write a blog.  Full of personal opinion. Reflective of who and what I’ve become. A romantic idealist. A spiritual free-thinker. A political liberal. A lover. A dreamer. And a writer – free to write anything that moves me. --Jim Broede