An open letter to readers: back to what Unreported Truths does best
Delving into medicine (and keeping an eye on the legacy media) are my comparative advantages, and it's what you like most too... I'm going to try to remember that for a while.
Whew.
A few weeks ago, someone I know said to me, you don’t have to weigh in on everything.
I know, I said. But it’s tempting. Tariffs, the Middle East, politics, dinosaur movies, all so fun to write about. And I don’t have an editor, so I can do what I like. And readers seem happy to go with me.
Lately, though, some of you aren’t so happy. Some of you have gotten frustrated with me. Particularly about the Israel/Gaza stuff. I get it. I’m not there, I don’t have real reporting, just opinions. And opinions are not in short supply when it comes to the Middle East. The conflict arouses huge passions. Some of you are very pro-Israel, some of you are very anti-, and whatever I write upsets one side or the other or both.
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(I can’t even find the energy to say anything funny.)
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Tonight’s debate with Dave Smith was the ultimate example of this. It sucked up a week and changed no minds. Those of you who thought my post on X was a cheap shot at the beginning hadn’t changed your minds at the end. Others found his name-calling and cursing repulsive and agreed with my take. Either way, a lot of you thought it was a waste of time, at best - a childish fight best avoided.
It’s tough for me to argue the point.
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This isn’t going to be a long post. I just wanted to say, I hear you. The most read and commented-on post of the last month was this one:
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It’s not quite service journalism (though a surprising number of you have had this surgery lately). But it’s why so many of you signed up - an inside look at an important medical issue that you may not get anywhere else.
So the next time I feel the need to touch on a hot-button issue, I’m going to remind myself what my friend said - and ask myself if doing so really the best use of my time. And yours. Anyone can write about Gaza… but not everyone can figure out if a new vaccine, or cancer drug, really works, or get inside the economics and risks and benefits of a medical procedure.
I’m going to be a little more choosy and selective. I’ve wanted to write a lot for you recently. That frequency has benefits, but it has drawbacks too.
I’ve been doing this a long time, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get better at it.
And I’ll keep trying.
The problem was not opinion v. facts or Gaza v. health care. Any opinion based on solid facts on any topic is welcome. The problem with your Gaza piece is that it was based on "facts" that seemed to be sourced entirely from mainstream media outlets that you have taught us to mistrust when it comes to other issues. If you had other sources, you never disclosed them or even suggested that you had reliable confidential information. And much of the mainstream narrative has been debunked, as you recognized in a later post. But you never retracted the views you expressed in your post, nor disclosed any reliable sources for the facts underlying your opinion. From the comments, that was the objection of many of your readers. You promised to give an explanation but I haven't seen one, and I follow you pretty closely.
I just renewed my subscription and I'm not about to quit over this, but I do think you are missing the point when you say you got into trouble because you strayed out of your lane. As far as I'm concerned, your lane is whatever you choose it to be, so long as you show the same rigor in reporting facts as you do on Covid, marijuana and other issues you've written on. Even if I ultimately disagree, I'll be interested to hear what you say because you (usually) have a solid foundation for your opinions.
Alex,
I joined this substack for your opinions, not your medical expertise. Write about whatever topic appeals to you. I may or may not agree… and that’s fine. Some topics may interest me more than others… and that’s fine. You can’t please everyone all the time. Just keep doing what you.