Op-Ed: On Nuance, Violence, and a Failure to Communicate
A Guest Submission by Chuck Todd
WASHINGTON D.C. – A few days have passed since my brief, and admittedly eventful, interview at The Post Meridiem Post. After some reflection, and the application of a surprising amount of ice, I feel it is necessary to comment on the incident, not as a victim, but as an observer of a breakdown in civil discourse.
To be clear, was the physical altercation I experienced ideal? No. But was my own literal interpretation of the term “hard-hitting journalism” also, in its own way, a contributing factor? I believe an honest analysis requires us to say yes.
This is what is so broken about our current climate. We have two sides, operating from two completely different sets of assumptions, talking past one another. On one side of the hiring desk, you had a staff so impassioned by their definition of journalism that they felt physical emphasis was necessary. On my side, you had a candidate so committed to a literal, data-driven interpretation of language that he failed to appreciate the metaphorical nature of the discussion.
Who is more to blame? This is the question everyone seems to be asking. But I believe it is the wrong question.
The real culprit here is the lack of a shared, neutral framework for professional communication. The absence of a moderate, common-sense approach to job interviews. The staff’s reaction was, in its own way, a form of “hard-hitting” analysis. My subsequent trip to the emergency room was also, in its own way, a “data point.” Both sides made their points with a passion that, while perhaps excessive, is symptomatic of the deep divisions in our industry.
I did not take the job, not because I was physically assaulted, but because I could not, in good faith, join a team so clearly on one extreme of the metaphorical-to-literal spectrum. But neither can I fully condemn them. Their actions, while painful, were a data set. My bruised ribs are a data set.
Ultimately, this was not an attack. It was a failure of two sides to meet in the middle. Perhaps a commission should be formed to study the establishment of clearer, more moderate norms for journalistic hiring practices. Until then, we are all left to nurse our wounds, whether they be physical, or merely metaphorical.
