“So much for Objective Journalism. Don’t bother to look for it here – not under any byline of mine; or anyone else I can think of. With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.”

― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72

Every writer should acknowledge their point of view. Refusing to admit bias or preference brands a writer as elitist and out-of-touch. While not every article or essay may be controversial, owing an explanation to the reader, a writer should identify opinions as their own whenever necessary. Or write in a style that leaves no doubt.

And, if you are going to be honest with controversy, you might as well go all the way. When Thompson was sent to cover the Kentucky Derby horse race he didn’t innocuously title his essay, instead he labeled it with the same ferocity as his writing: The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved.

A few years later Rolling Stone had him cover another race, the 1972 presidential election. He wrote like this: “Hubert Humphrey is a treacherous, gutless old ward-heeler who should be put in a goddamn bottle and sent out with the Japanese current.”As Klingon Commander Kor in an old Star Trek episode once remarked, “Good, honest hatred. Very refreshing.”