(via keepinganotebook)

Interesting blog post by Emily Gould, about backstabbing in the NYC media scene. I share some of Emily’s concerns about what we let slip out from our keyboards online, and undoubtedly would feel the same betrayal if I were in her shoes, but…

One of the reasons journalists technically aren’t supposed to write about people they know is because it’s thought to influence their coverage. In practice, this isn’t so easy, because if you spend long enough writing and thinking about any beat or scene, you’re going to get to know the people in it, but the principle remains the same: write the truth (whether it’s the fact of what happened, or the truth of your opinion), regardless of your personal feelings about the person involved. Hence this quote, and hence writing frequently involving betrayal.

Rachel Sklar’s job is to write about the media, good and bad. Jessica Coen and Chris Rovzar are employed to write about New York, good and bad. They can like Emily perfectly well and still not like everything she writes and does. She falls within their beat, and they’re obliged to write about it honestly.

Emily Gould’s job at Gawker was similar: to write about the New York media scene… mostly bad. She’s not ethically comfortable with that anymore, and that’s perfectly understandable. Probably noble, even. But her writing, just like anyone else’s, is still going to involve stepping on some toes (think how she characterised her relationship with Julia Allison in the NYT piece, for one) if it’s going to be honest, and if it’s going to be any good.