The VBA Journal is the official publication of The Virginia Bar Association.
Issue link: http://vba.epubxp.com/i/436865
12 • VBA JOURNAL WRITER'S BLOCK BY DAVID H. SPRATT PROFESSOR, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY has 'video' killed the best legal stars? Attention Defcit B elieve it or not, the frst music video shown on MTV (and yes, they used to show videos) bemoaned the advent of new video and television technology and lamented the impending death of the classically beloved radio hero. With the lyric, "pictures came and broke your heart," the song spoke to a generation grappling with new electronic and communication media about societal change. It is true: video did kill the radio star. Now, some 35 years later, your resident columnist poses this question: have so- cial media and the lack of original thought "killed" the best legal stars? I know. Tis column is called Writer's Block. So, why am I talking about social media and its efect on the legal pro- fession? Good writing mandates good thinking. Truly good thinking requires careful attention. And careful attention re- quires getting rid of the distractions inherent in social media and an overreliance on fnding a quick answer. Perhaps I am on a soap box: if so, let's call this column Curmudgeon's Corner. Tis is not a new concept. I am certainly not the frst per- son to address this issue, nor will I be the last. But the art of really thinking through an issue instead of fnding an imme- diate answer online is going the way of the Dodo Bird. For some, Google has become the legal research tool of choice. Being a lawyer is not easy. We are trained to solve prob- lems creatively. We are trained to help clients who are unable