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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
BUG
Category: Issue 21“Good bye!” I walk out, stomping, on the paper’s editor – the “Bug” as I called him, though never openly. With every detail, every headline, in fact with every fact, he had a problem. And a solution of course – his own suggestions. No more wounds of the editorial razor. From newspaper journalist, I move to be a citizen journalist. Proudly so!
“This is Kane…” I write in my intro to the first submission I am required to submit with my blog post on the citizen journalism site where I mean to make more each month than the paper without being a hazard to those precious trees sustaining our planet. “Finding the freedom to be true to the word at last…” I finish the post. Free of editor’s professionalism. Whew!
“Your submission’s title has negative adjectives,” I receive in less than 30 minutes from the citizen journalism site. “Please correct them.”
I feel cracked inside somewhere. Negative adjectives! Was I supposed to find euphemisms for words describing a raped-to-murder incident? I hit on the ‘Reply’ button. But before I start with writing a stormy reply, I see the end line of the message sent to me: “Computer generated message. Please don’t reply!”
A computer, my editor? I sigh and look at the computer screen. It’s so insensitive, even more than my editor at the job I just left, and now wished had kept. A while later, I am dialing the paper’s number.
“Can I talk to Bug… I mean Mr. Borneo?”
Back to VotingOld Comments
Very compelling and so very true. Where is this world going to, with AI editors, and Watson competing on Jeopardy (and cleverly picking out the daily doubles out of nowhere)? Let’s get back to arguing like human beings. As heated as opposing opinions can get, at least they’re based on true values and human intelligence, and can actually teach us something about listening, compromising and admitting we’re wrong.
Thanks Star! You got the point!
I don’t know. Computers aren’t so bad. When they take over the world they’ll reward guys like me who stand for their rights!
((PS, stewpid computers can’t read anything between double parentheses, good piece. I don’t like it that computers control my banking, run my country and are used for devious purposed such as tabulating the “voting” and naming the American Idol. The whole thing stinks. Besides, robots are kind of metal midgets, which creeps me out.))
Haha! Don, you really know how best to push the button on computers!
Pretty interesting! I don’t like it that computers control my banking, run my country and are used for devious purposed such as tabulating the “voting” and naming the American Idol. Thanks!