"Sometimes stories are inherently important whether or not they have a direct relation to your life"
About this Quote
The line pushes back against the idea that stories earn their worth only by touching our wallets, schedules, or neighborhoods. It is a defense of intrinsic significance: some events and narratives matter because they reveal truth, shape the world we share, or demand moral attention, even if they never cross the threshold of our daily routines.
Coming from a journalist, it is also a statement about editorial judgment. Audiences often prefer proximity and utility, but journalism cannot be reduced to a mirror of private interests. A famine on another continent, a court decision in a field you do not work in, a scientific breakthrough you cannot yet use, or an artistic movement outside your taste may not change your day, but each helps define the era you are living through. They expand the map of what citizens know and the range of what citizens can care about.
There is a democratic argument here. Self-government depends on shared knowledge that is larger than the self. If we only consume stories that reflect our experience, the public sphere fractures into narrow feeds of tailored relevance. Stories of inherent importance resist that narrowing. They ask us to exercise the moral imagination, to witness, to consider consequences that will land on others now and perhaps on us later.
There is also a human argument. Narratives are how we learn empathy and recognize patterns. The chain of causes that eventually reaches your life often begins in places that seem remote. Paying attention before the ripple hits your shore is not a luxury; it is prudence and solidarity.
Finally, there is a craft argument. Journalists are stewards, not just vendors. Their job is not only to gratify interest but to cultivate it. By elevating stories that matter on their own terms, they keep the culture from shrinking to the size of each individual life.
Coming from a journalist, it is also a statement about editorial judgment. Audiences often prefer proximity and utility, but journalism cannot be reduced to a mirror of private interests. A famine on another continent, a court decision in a field you do not work in, a scientific breakthrough you cannot yet use, or an artistic movement outside your taste may not change your day, but each helps define the era you are living through. They expand the map of what citizens know and the range of what citizens can care about.
There is a democratic argument here. Self-government depends on shared knowledge that is larger than the self. If we only consume stories that reflect our experience, the public sphere fractures into narrow feeds of tailored relevance. Stories of inherent importance resist that narrowing. They ask us to exercise the moral imagination, to witness, to consider consequences that will land on others now and perhaps on us later.
There is also a human argument. Narratives are how we learn empathy and recognize patterns. The chain of causes that eventually reaches your life often begins in places that seem remote. Paying attention before the ripple hits your shore is not a luxury; it is prudence and solidarity.
Finally, there is a craft argument. Journalists are stewards, not just vendors. Their job is not only to gratify interest but to cultivate it. By elevating stories that matter on their own terms, they keep the culture from shrinking to the size of each individual life.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|
More Quotes by Linda
Add to List
