People like this make me ashamed to be a blogger

I'm in no way a "professional journalist" (and defining who is is the basis of my thesis, so trust me, I'm quite familiar with the term) but I get so aggravated when people get all pissy with journalists when they publish stories that "make artists look bad." Usually, my initial reaction is that it is not the journalist who interviewed the artist that made them look bad, it's the artists themselves who say the stuff in an interview with someone who's job is to WRITE THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT THE PERSON THEY ARE INTERVIEWING SAYS. One example: Eric Church's rant in Rolling Stone calling out other artists who do tv shows and other ventures outside of making music. I heard so many people say that that's why they hate journalists, because they just want to make people look bad and to get more attention for themselves. Do you remember the writers name? I subscribe to Rolling Stone, I read the article, I couldn't tell you who wrote it. I can tell you that if I was assigned to interview Eric Church, and I asked him a question, and he gave me an answer, and I wrote that answer in a story, it is not me who is making anyone look bad. If he didn't want that published, he shouldn't have said it. He did. He know what he was doing. He knew who he was talking to. He probably was well aware of the attention it would get him. (And I mean, come on, have you seen Almost Famous? Music journalists are "the enemy," "the one guy you don't tell secrets to." Duh.)  The writer did his job. That is all. There is no shame in that. 

But then, there are some people who bring complete disgrace and shame to the title of journalist (or blogger, because, in my opinion, a blogger doing interviews with artists and getting paid to write about them is a journalist).  I hopped up on my soapbox and started writing this after seeing a tweet from Aaron Lewis, calling attention to a woman who had taken it upon herself to accost Lewis after reading what a blogger said pertaining to comments he had made about Carrie Underwood at a concert. 

Here are the comments that Lewis made: 





Then, from those comments, a post was written with this title:

Um, excuse me. Tell me, please, where in that clip did he say that he hated Carrie Underwood? What one single statement did Lewis make that is against Underwood herself?  Because I can't find it. He says nothing about her personally. He clearly says "depicts herself as." Which is completely true! I'd love for anyone to explain it to me any differently.
  


I'm not familiar with the website where this was published. I'm not even going to write the name of it in this post because I don't want to give it anymore attention. I don't know the work of the man who wrote it. I do know that he makes me ashamed to call myself a blogger and a writer. You use headlines that are sensationalized to get people to read your gossip. I understand, your goal was to get readers. That's the purpose for any blog post. And I'll admit freely that this baby blog pales in comparison to what you're doing. But I can honestly say that I'd rather keep doing what I'm doing --without blatantly lying about the artists I write about-- than ever grow to your level as a blogger and fall to your level as a human.   

You just keep trying to be the country Perez Hilton, buddy. Sleep well knowing that you bring shame to others who write to share music and real information and not half-truths and falsities. You're disgusting. Thanks for reminding me of everything I never want to be and what a complete lack of integrity looks like.    

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