As I See It / September 2006

 

Why Not You? Why Not I?

A Woman’s View has always been happy to publish columns by guest authors, from women with an interest, an idea or an area of expertise. But the paper’s guidelines specifically prohibit the use of personal pronouns-you, I, me, we. Journalism permits an editorial ‘we’, but only in an editorial. Everyone else must find a way to tell their story in the third person.

It’s a restriction many find irritating, most find frustrating and some find infuriating. It’s a source of fiery indignation for writers who expect a free newspaper to accept their work without question. Novice writers find it exasperating to express themselves without a personal pronoun. Practiced columnists are offended when denied access to “I” in their text. Professional publicists are annoyed when their attention-getting “you”, is excised from their copy. Anyone selling something finds the exclusion virtually impossible to navigate around.

And that’s the primary reason A Woman’s View doesn’t accept articles with personal pronouns. Of the thirteen top marketing words, “you” is number one on the list.

A Woman’s View was established in 2001 as a forum to promote, support and encourage women. Local and regional advertisers invest in that mission by purchasing ads so the paper remains free and accessible for every woman who might benefit from-or simply enjoy-reading it.

It is not a platform for self-expression, self-promotion or self-aggrandizement. Newsletters, websites, blogs, chat rooms, email and a host of other unregulated venues allow ample opportunity for what seems to have become an unceasing avalanche of personal opinion, personal experience and personal trivia. A Woman’s View believes that readers deserve a break from the rampant self-absorption that has become as noxious and as prevalent as kudzu.

A Woman’s View also believes readers deserve a break from being “sold”.

America is a capitalist country, a nation built on someone selling something to someone else. Because they control so much of the purchasing, women are constant targets. Women are ‘marketed’ every moment, constantly solicited, urged to buy, encouraged to try, selected to receive. There is no escape from the incessant barrage. Woman have a million products and a million services laid at their door, by whole industries whose purpose is to convince women that those products and services are essential to health, beauty and well being.

Some of them really are. And women genuinely want to know about the products, places, goods and services that might provide a benefit to their lives. That’s why AWV sells ads. And, why, when a product comes to our attention that is helpful for women, we share it with readers, for free.

But, newspapers since their inception have had to strictly separate advertising from the news. There can be no ethical mingling between the two. A television infomercial is clearly an ad. In print, in text with a byline, the distinction may not be so apparent. And although AWV is completely dependent on advertisers for its existence, the paper must still adhere to the standards that are requisite for every newspaper, every news magazine and every television channel that offers news. In any medium that expects to be trusted or respected, the news cannot be for sale.

When a reader opens A Woman’s View, we hope she checks the ads carefully, and every time a reader buys from an advertiser, she supports the paper. But when she reads feature stories, articles, announcements or reviews, for those few moments, she is not a target. The distinction is a fine line, one that can be hard to walk, and, in the big picture, may not matter to anyone at all. But standing firm, even on the smallest ground, is how principles survive.

A Woman’s View chooses not to compromise with "you" and “I”. PL

 

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