And as a web application developer, I've been studying object-oriented programming, which is all about breaking down processes into key components and dealing with those components in rational, logical order. There is no subjectivity in programming. The idea is to build efficient performance and it requires thorough and disciplined analysis of a problem.

The nexus between sabrematics and OOP is that both deal with what can be seen and held — if not in the real world, at least in the mind's eye. Neither skill can be practiced successfully without a high level of detachment.

As I delve deeper into objectivity, I am beginning to wonder if the big lie isn't that journalists are objective when they aren't, but that objectivity is impossible.

Objectivity may be difficult, require discipline and practice, but in news reports it might be easier to obtain than most journalists think. And what it may require is thinking more like an OOP programmer, or maybe a sabrematician.

I'm in no position to put this revelation into practice and test the theory, I just throw the idea out for others to discuss and think about.

Here's an exercise for all of you reporters out there: The next time you sit down to write a story, instead of a traditional outline (if you outline your stories, which you should), model your story the way an OOP programmer would. Divide it into its class hierarchy. Figure out its objects, its states (how it exists) and its methods (behaviors, actions). Build your story around the objects, and make sure all states and methods are attributed. Every object should have at least one state and one method. This will help you, I think, see your story more objectively, and by including with every object a state and a method, you should ensure balance and fairness, and since the state and method rely on real, newsworthy objects, should help you keep your own states and methods out of the story. Finally, OOJ should help reporters focus just on the facts, analyze them deeply, and avoid the kind of subjective judgments that are more the product of laziness than good writing.

Here's a book on OOP to help.

BTW: Gerry Braun is now the writing coach for the San Diego Union-Tribune. That's probably a good place for a creative writer.