About the Detail

Lurking behind every story, or just below its surface like an iceberg, there is usually another story. Obscured from view by the other issues baring down on it or simply the media amplification that usually obfuscates rather than adds insight to any really fascinating or impactful story in this digital age.

Looking for a different or non-standard view-point; whilst throwing around the facts and comparing and contrasting individual perspectives and motivations, usually casts a different light – or shadow – on how a story is reported and viewed after the event. All this is best done by taking a big step back from the spinning vortex  of off-the cuff opinions, here say and conjecture that surrounds the most interesting and intriguing stories. If you don’t pull back you will be much more likely to find that you get pulled in rather than pull something material and meaningful out.

So much information is seeded for profit and promotion that it is increasingly hard to discern what is true on many “authoritative” websites. The social web is under attack from paid for reviewers and gratuitous self promoters and news sites are not immune from their influence. And without applying some critical thought it is possible not to notice this  targeted manipulation. Going with the flow was fine when the web was new and innocent, but with Google and Facebook wanting more access to our personal data – and to read what we write – we may going forward find ourselves compromised.  As an act of critical thinking it could be time to start reading the small print and  do a 360 before giving out information without reservation (Infowores).

There is no repressed need here or any aspirations to undertake hard-hitting journalism,  just a desire to look beneath the surface and see how the ripples made on the pond by random incidents and happenings can cause butterflies to have severe bouts of nausea on the other side of the world. Being a mostly humourous invention will not prevent the appearance of certainly pointed commentaries, or the occasional contentious fact, but for the most part the idea is to share and speculate on any the new learnings that can be teased out of having taken the time to look at issues with new eyes and seeking out “new” facts or after at least checking the ones on which a news story relies.

History is full of revisions and reappraisals resulting from the discovery of new information; and more often than not these new discoveries or insights have been achieved by someone challenging or striving to understanding more fully entrenched cultural behaviours and beliefs, by cutting through reputation protection strategies and modern political and corporate spin, and by examining prevailing perspectives via a new neutral view.  Whatever the weight of material, and material evidence, the final conclusions of any investigation usually proves “the devil is in the detail”.  And the success of the investigation is of course dependent on whether we currently have the right light, lens and magnification to extract the detail and free the devil.

Do feel free to suggest subjects and comment on the ones I select. And if anybody knows how many magic bullets there really were in the JFK case please feel free to get in touch: Immediately!