"It's easy to write a good column if you've got good information. It's hard if you have to depend on style alone. I suppose there are people who can get away with styling on a regular basis. I'm not one of them. You're probably not, either"
About this Quote
Journalism likes to cosplay as pure voice - the columnist as lone virtuoso, riffing elegantly on the week. Sloan punctures that fantasy with a shrug that lands like a reprimand. The line sets up an almost unfairly simple hierarchy: information first, style second. Not because style is useless, but because style without reporting is just performance art with a dateline.
The intent is partly craft advice, partly ethical boundary-setting. Sloan isn’t romanticizing “objectivity”; he’s insisting on ballast. “Good information” is a proxy for legwork: sources, documents, numbers that survive contact with readers who actually know the subject. “Style alone” is what fills the space when you don’t have that ballast - clever framing, hot takes, righteous tone. The subtext: the marketplace rewards styling more than it rewards the slow work of being right, and that incentive structure quietly corrodes the trade.
The most pointed move is the faux-humble self-placement: “I’m not one of them.” He’s not bragging about being plain; he’s warning that even seasoned writers can’t reliably bluff reality into coherence. Then comes the kicker: “You’re probably not, either.” It’s collegial, but also prosecutorial. It drags the reader (or young journalist, or pundit-tempted editor) into complicity: if you’re honest, you know when you’re riffing.
Contextually, it reads like a veteran’s antidote to column culture - especially in business journalism, where a pretty paragraph can’t rescue a bad premise or missing facts. Sloan’s cynicism is practical: the truth isn’t a vibe, and a columnist isn’t a magician.
The intent is partly craft advice, partly ethical boundary-setting. Sloan isn’t romanticizing “objectivity”; he’s insisting on ballast. “Good information” is a proxy for legwork: sources, documents, numbers that survive contact with readers who actually know the subject. “Style alone” is what fills the space when you don’t have that ballast - clever framing, hot takes, righteous tone. The subtext: the marketplace rewards styling more than it rewards the slow work of being right, and that incentive structure quietly corrodes the trade.
The most pointed move is the faux-humble self-placement: “I’m not one of them.” He’s not bragging about being plain; he’s warning that even seasoned writers can’t reliably bluff reality into coherence. Then comes the kicker: “You’re probably not, either.” It’s collegial, but also prosecutorial. It drags the reader (or young journalist, or pundit-tempted editor) into complicity: if you’re honest, you know when you’re riffing.
Contextually, it reads like a veteran’s antidote to column culture - especially in business journalism, where a pretty paragraph can’t rescue a bad premise or missing facts. Sloan’s cynicism is practical: the truth isn’t a vibe, and a columnist isn’t a magician.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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