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# Time to Kick the Controversy Habit
- URL: https://onemanandhisblog.com/2009/12/time_to_kick_the_controversy_habit/
- Published: 2009-12-15T18:08:16.000Z
- Updated: 2015-04-08T14:43:45.000Z
- Author: Adam Tinworth
- Tags: Journalists, opinion, paywalls, Publishing

At a meeting this morning, I told a prospective newbie blogger that intentional controversy was often a massively over-rated virtue. In the light of this, I couldn’t help but find myself nodding vigorously in agreement with [this piece by Umair Haque](http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2009/12/why%5Fcontroversy%5Fwont%5Fpower%5Fnex.html?ref=onemanandhisblog.com):

> To play the opinion arb game, news publishers have to stop seeking  
> simply the most controversial opinions. They’re abundant: every talking  
> head can churn one out, and faux “news” of every kind is already chock  
> full of ’em shrieking at one another. Instead, successful opinion  
> arbitrageurs must seek the most informed opinions, gooey with  
> expertise, thick with real value for readers.
> 
> Those opinions are worth the most — and they’re what readers will pay for.

Elephant in the room #2 when it comes to paywalls: you might have to change the nature of what your write and publish to make them work.