To encourage good writing absent this kind of orthodoxy does not mean the journalist lacks standards. No reporter should add to a story events or details that did not occur. Nor should a story ever intentionally fool the audience. An implied contract exists between reporter and reader that a reliable version of reality is being rendered with care and honesty. If such open-mindedness must have a name, then I'll worship at the altar of pragmatism, the spot next to tolerance as among the great virtues.
Pragmatic journalists have dozens of tools and forms on their workbenches.
The clearest news story requires as much craft as the most powerful narrative. If we focus on the needs of those we serve, instead of debating the methods we use, we'll all be better off. Embracing the false dichotomy while abandoning our overriding mission is not only foolhardy but shortsighted. Roy Peter Clark is a writer and teacher of writing at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. Through his writing and coaching, Clark has helped to reinvent the nonfiction newspaper serial.