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Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Searching for Disaster

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• Searching for Disaster

  (#) mhistbuff 2008-08-07

  Great story. I like your snarky sarcastic Harry, and the fact that this has a definite effect on canon. I will say I am wondering if Hermione survived the troll without Harry.
  
  On the rant about the Daily Prophet. Historically, most newspapers/broadsheets were opinionated rags very much like the Daily Prophet. 'Unbiased' or 'balanced' journalism didn't arise until around the turn of the 19th century and the creation of the wire services like AP. Before then, there was usually a newspaper for every political party in every city, hence newspaper names like the 'Press-Democrat'. The problem with the Daily Prophet is that there is no serious opposition paper - the Quibbler doesn't count. There ought to have been one that was just as anti-Fudge as the Prophet was pro-Fudge. But, biased partisan newspapers would fit very well, if properly done, into the anachronistic, old-fashioned magical society described by Rowling.
  
  All this being said, I don't think she was planning on making that historical allusion, which, of course, means that the Prophet should have upheld modern journalistic standards. I'm interested to see how you view in the impact of the unbiased paper in your story.
  
  

• Searching for Disaster

  (#) jabarber69 2008-08-07

  Hey found your story, and I simple love the scarcasm! So fits in well, especially after having to endure hundreds if not thousands of authors who seem to thing they need to write about his adventures in exact detail of what rowling writes then they start screaming bloody murder if someone takes some other fanfic authors ideal and runs it it...stupid if you ask me, hell they mostly stole rowlings ideal and most of them write nearly word for word what she wrote! bloody hiprocrites!
  
  Finally I see someone gave him the smarts to realize what snape is and to actually do something realistic and walk out of his class...thats what I would of done...considering the wiz world hires and puts up gits like snape to teach potions no less, hell if you read rowling he doesnt teach potions, all he does is put up the directions on the board then walk around fucking with his students form other houses.
  
  Also if I were him I would wear those bathrobes, I would wear my regular clothes, if they didnt like it then I didnt really want to come here anyway...the same with regular writing paper and pens...hell the wiz world is living in the dark ages!
  
  Also I wouldnt of gone to the detention of macgonagall, and if I did, and they tried to take me into the forbidden forest then I would turn around and walk back into the castle, fuck em...its forbidden for a reason you know!
  
  And oh yeah I simple love your comment concerning the broom and teaching them to ride them. You know another class he/I would walk out of would be defense, which is a joke along with history of magic, then he would have 3 free periods!

• Searching for Disaster

  (#) deamondeathstone 2008-08-07

  Rant 3: Yep, it's just you. You seem to forget that Rowling is British and they have these things that look like newspapers but are little more then gossip magazines.
  
  My guess she based the Prophet on one of those.

• Searching for Disaster

  (#) pyrodaemon_87 2008-08-09

  Richard B. Johns, uh? I know that one, all too easy. Richard B. Riddick and Johns the Doped up Merc.
  
  Anyways this is a really good story. I love your Harry because he brings up so many points in the WW that always annoyed me. - pyrodaemon

• Searching for Disaster

  (#) pfeil 2008-08-10

  I agree that Hedwig doesn't really fit him, though I don't see how he managed to kill her, when she would presumably be able to just fly off and get food.
  
  I like the developments with Daphne, BTW.

• Searching for Disaster

  (#) GrantLarceny 2008-08-10

  i like the story...
  
  the rants in each chapter are quite excessive and misleading...
  
  point #1
  
  the rant in this chapter about journalism...jkr's depiction of journalists is in fact spot on...yours however is extremely idealistic...thats a nice way of saying false
  
  if you had been paying attention during your lifetime you would know that journalists, tv and newspapers are constantly sued for making stories up(lying)
  
  if cbs gets sued, fox reports it, if fox gets sued, nbc reports it, if the new york times gets sued, the washington post reports it etc etc etc
  
  i personally have no interest in journalism and it makes me wonder why i know this and you dont
  
  point #2
  
  all the lies journalists print in the paper and speak on tv have one thing in common...they fit
  
  whether its a newspaper column, a magizine article or a single tv segment they all are made to fit via something called the 'word count'
  
  have you noticed that even the stories on this site have a word count?
  
  your long rants in each chapter seem to run for several paragraphs...this makes your word count inflate and your story is several hundred if not thousands of words shorter than is advertised!
  
  this makes you a liar and a hypocrite just like the daily prophet...
  
  ironically this also makes you perfect for journalism
  
  have a nice day
  

  Author's response

  While I do appreciate you opinion, I must point out that I never mentioned anything about regular papers never getting sued or lying. Hell, I wasn't even talking about getting facts right. What I said was that the Prophet incorporated too much personal opinion (on the writer's part), which you don't see in real papers, usually not even in tabloids.
  
  Two, all the rants add up to less than 600 words. Since currently this story is almost 20k words...Really not all that misleading. If you look at things from your point of view, then all stories with any sort of author notes (a.k.a. all stories) are lying and misleading.
  
  Thanks for the review.
  
  --S.R.

• Searching for Disaster

  (#) paulblay 2009-07-27

  I think Harry should get a pet rock. It's about the only thing he won't be able to kill off ;-).
  
  Well, I suppose you could get him a phoenix, but that would be too cliché.

• Searching for Disaster

  (#) paulblay 2009-07-27

  P.S. I quite like the Author's Notes (aka rants) and don't think they detract from the story.

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