The other day a reporter in Raleigh, NC tweeted a comment about how their newsroom was swimming in boxes of donuts. His tweet said “Perks of Working at The News & Diabetes.”
At first I was mildly annoyed and was going to let it go. But the more I thought about it, the more troubled I became. Ignorance about diabetes - regardless of type - is something that all of us and our loved ones battle. The thing that got me thinking is that this person is a reporter. Their profession is devoted to informing the public - not perpetuating ignorant stereotypes. More troubling was that 5 other reporters ‘liked’ his tweet. With that ‘aha moment’ came the realization that I couldn’t just let it go. I had to do something.
Normally when angry and hurt, we often say things that we’ll regret. That is me, and then some. I could call attention to his ignorance. With some common hashtags I could arouse the Diabetes Online Community and let them have a crack at him. It would have been great fun.
But I also realized that here was a chance to do something positive: to educate this reporter. Maybe some knowledge would help him understand that a flippant comment could be hurtful. Done right, maybe I could give him some insight into the hourly challenges that come with diabetes. I decided to take the high road. It might work, and it might not, but I’d be able to sleep knowing that I tried to do the right thing.
So I tweeted him back. It said, “@RaleighReporter@thadogburn Care to try #diabetes for a day? I’d be happy to walk you through it. #t1diabeteshttp://thomasgoffe.com/type-i-diabetes”
No response, but that wasn’t surprising. So I wrote about it on my blog. While that might make me feel a bit better, hardly anybody reads it, but it is a great tool I use to organize my thoughts. So I wrote about my anger, internal conflict and decision to reach out. I then emailed him a brief note and a link.
I don’t know whether my attempt at educating an errant reporter worked or not, but I’m glad I took the high road. The view is pretty good.
I commend you on taking the high road! Speaking for myself, I’d like to think that I’d take the high road, but if, after a reasonable amount of time there was no response, I’d more than likely resort to flaming. And probably wouldn’t feel the slightest bit guilty for doing so.
YaSureYaBetcha…I agree. At that point, Flame away. But if it is a solitary, confused individual fellow being—I’d try for some education…
Those who dangerously put out wrong info and stereotypes from positions of influence—well, whack them upside the head however one can!..Serious pet peeve for me, as you may be able to tell…
Couldn’t tell, @Judith_in_Portland! . In some cases, I’m not sure which is the high road. Sure, privately attempting to educate would usually fit the bill, but there is so much misinformation out there, and so many flippant comments and jokes made, that when someone in a position to do so much public good - or harm - (such as a reporter) makes a public remark like that, it could be than an equally public “notification” is more the order of the day. Really gets under my skin, and between insulin and CGM, it’s getting pretty crowded in there, so I’m inclined to go the flame route!
good for you @Tom_Goffe! It does get a little tiresome swimming upstream to the deluge of misinformation, ignorance and lame jokes, and I try not to spend too much time on what I call the outrage-du-jour, whether it’s a personal trainer thinking American girl dolls shouldn’t have insulin pumps because their owners should instead be living healthier lifestyles, or Tweets from Crossfit,etc. This is a chance to do some educating that could have a ripple effect, imo. Opening the eyes of a journalist to diabetes awareness could result in a much better “return on investment” of your time. thanks again!
I think I am on a one woman crusade against the sugar free diet people. They proclaim sugar free and then post recipes that are full of simple carbs! Ugh…
Two-woman campaign, please-----Another huge pet peeve for me…
You know, on these issues that are life and death for us, the whole “pet peeve” phrase seems totally inadequate…Need something more definitive in terms of phraseology!..xx000
Personally, I think we erred when we abolished public stocks and floggings. Doing it in front of an admiring crowd makes the punishment itself twice as painful.
I checked his twitter feed (@raleighreporter) and he got 10 likes for the offensive tweet (no retweets at least) and absolutely no reaction to anyone bringing up how insensitive and STUPID it was. so I guess there’s no hope for anything positive. SIGH.
One thing that got my attention is that 5 of those ‘likes’ came from fellow reporters. It seems that there is some ‘educating’ to be done. I’m working on it - quietly. I don’t really believe that changing attitudes or correcting stereotypes is most effectively done by flaming somebody, being nasty or loudmouthed about it.
You attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.
my grandmother used to say that all the time[quote=“Tom_Goffe, post:14, topic:55287”]
You attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.
[/quote]
I think that’s FANTASTIC Tom. I’m sure our community will be interested in what happens.
Can we lay off the reporter bashing please? I get it, we journalists are often wrong. But we’re not all hacks with no ability to learn from our mistakes. I’d also invite anyone here to try and write, say, 2 500-word articles in a four-hour timespan with no background information and no known sources (a typical deadline for a journalist). We typically care about getting things right but we’re also basically in the business of quickly trying to find truth in a giant pile of hearsay, gossip and initial reports.
Reporters are like doctors, lawyers, auto mechanics, or any other occupation: one’s impression of them is going to be based on those with whom ohe has come into direct contact. My experience with reporters has been not-quite-uniformly negative. And let’s be clear: I am not talking about people writing things that happen to be uncomplimentary. I refer specifically to those who write things that are objectively, demonstrably, provably untrue. Your experience may be quite different, of course.
Hey, I’ll happily lay off the reporter bashing as long as we also lay off the doctor-bashing (that occurs one heck of a lot more often on this Forum than does reporter bashing, BTW)…
Hey - I was very close to a journalism career myself, but ended up in IT! And for the record, I absolutely LOVE the huge number of BAD IT guys – they keep me employed!
. In some cases, I’m not sure which is the high road. Sure, privately attempting to educate would usually fit the bill, but there is so much misinformation out there, and so many flippant comments and jokes made, that when someone in a position to do so much public good - or harm - (such as a reporter) makes a public remark like that, it could be than an equally public “notification” is more the order of the day. Really gets under my skin, and between insulin and CGM, it’s getting pretty crowded in there, so I’m inclined to go the flame route!
