What Happens When Nothing Happens?

Stephen Bateman —  January 30, 2012 — Leave a comment

We wrote this post one day in response to a serious lack of interesting news. But it’s relevant to the way we think of news in general. At the Garnet Report, we’re committed to not posting anything, if there is nothing worth posting. Like Thumper, from Bambi: “If there isn’t anything worth saying, don’t say anything at all.” 

Yesterday in Columbia South Carolina, nothing happened. But as a news source, *SOMETHING* has to happen, right?

I’m sure that you went on living your life just fine. It was Sunday. Some of you were at church, others went out to eat, and others did homework. Normal day.

Actually, to say that “nothing happened” isn’t quite true. There *are* things that happened…77 was shut down for three hours, a body was found and there was a pretty bad fire. On Saturday a man shot at his own sons while they stole his car, and there was a pretty bad car crash in Bamberg.

Now before we go further, let me be clear: The Garnet Report editorial team never wants to make light of tragedy. Those stories amount to permanent, life altering events for a lot of people. But we are intent on only reporting stories that we judge as both relevant and important to you. Sometimes that means not reporting anything at all.

Imagine if the Report each day was full of stories about death, robbery, and crime. To be honest, those headlines are irresistible to readers and would drive lots of traffic through the site. But as a news source, we must break through that layer of triviality and find stories that are more meaningful.

Our goal is to only report stories that are worth reading. And when days like yesterday happen and all is quiet, we too will be quiet.

Stephen Bateman

Posts Twitter Facebook

Stephen graduated from USC in 2011. He enjoys coffee, website design, and British authors. During the day, he writes for Garnet Report and builds websites freelance. At night, he rages.