Taking An Approach

I found that Harris' metaphor involving music was a perfect example of what I interpreted as "taking an approach". As he stated, a musicians cover of a song cannot merely be an imitation of the original. Instead, to add more depth and a different take on the song, the covering artist must produce his own rendition of the song. I feel like this applies very well to the concept of "taking an approach". In most academic writing that I've done the process of writing involved taking someone's ideas, and either reinforcing them with my own or countering them with my own ideas. Taking an approach differs in the sense that in order to take an approach effectively, you must take the ideas of the original author and spin them in your own way. This does not necessarily mean countering them, but adding to them with your own concepts. The New York Times takes a definite approach on every article they publish. For example, an article about a desperate village in a different country might have a supportive, sentimental tone with ideas centering around the fact that villages like this need support. On the other hand, an article about a dictatorial leader might have a profesional, condescending approach that points out the flaws and dangers of this leader. I also see it on blogs, as college students take an approach that is applicable to them and their current situation. This adds new depth to any story or article, and I believe that it's not taking anything away as you could simply read the original article to learn about their approach.