Having been a reporter for only a few years, I’ve already encountered a lot of misconceptions, confusion and stereotypes about the profession from peers, friends and family. Some of them are humorous. Others, to put it mildly, elevate one’s heart rate considerably. To a strong degree, the image of journalism hasn’t really kept up with reality. The industry has changed so fast and is undergoing so much upheaval and transformation that it’s impossible for anyone, even a reporter, to have a clear perspective of what we actually do and what really goes on inside of a newsroom.
Thus, in the hope of clarifying some of the issues, here are a few items I feel obligated to address.
1. Reporters only cover what’s in their coverage area
A reporter writes about what their newspaper readers want to hear about. I had one person ask me if I was covering this upcoming presidential election, to which I replied, “Not unless one of them plans on campaigning in Maple Valley, Covington or Black Diamond.” Every now and then I get emailed a press release from California or, like this week, one about a high school in Queens, New York. It provides me a moment of humor before I delete it. The reason is because our readers can find news stories anywhere else about topics such as the presidential election. Also, if we write about those stories, then it means a local story gets missed or goes unreported, which defeats the whole point of a community newspaper.
2. We’re only human
Inasmuch as we try to the best of our ability, we can’t be everywhere at once. Without the support of readers and the community, a newspaper can’t survive. A reporter’s greatest ally is a community that helps keep them informed of what’s going on, when an event is happening, who’s received an award or broken a school record. Additionally, half the time there’s a name missing from a story or a factual mistake, it’s unintentional, not because we’re secretly plotting with the Free Masons to prevent the truth from coming out about the precise location of Freischütz’s magic bullet.
3. Activism and journalism are not and should not be the same thing
In college, I got a lot of weird reactions from people when I told them I was studying to be a reporter. They seemed more fitting for a missionary or humanitarian. The rise of activist journalism didn’t help me much. I finally felt compelled to say something when one person asked me how I was going to make the world a better place. I said, “That’s not my job. My job is to write about people who are trying to make the world a better place, what their actually doing and whether it’s working or not.”
4. Editorials and columns state opinions, not absolutes
Editorials and columns are written to express a certain perspective or belief. They’re not to declare what everyone else must believe. Someone once asked me why the opinion section of the newspapers are so biased. I was at a loss of what to say, other than, “They’re someone’s opinion. It’s supposed to be biased.”
Objectivity and factual accuracy, however, is another matter.
People who’ve confused the two tell me, “You should write about (fill in the blank controversial issue) and how it’s (fill in the blank conclusion).” Not only is the issue usually completely outside of my coverage (it’s inevitably a national/state political issue) but they want me to write with a specific slant, regardless of what an investigation would show. And label it as a news story.
I think Sherlock Holmes said it best when he stated, “Never theorize before you have data. Invariably, you end up twisting facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”
An editorial also doesn’t speak on behalf of the entire newspaper. When I write “Our Corners” I speak only for myself, as does Kris and Dennis or whoever else’s opinion is stated there. A lot of times we run columns we don’t necessarily agree with or support, but the point of the newspaper is to just be more than a talking piece for one point of view. It’s meant to be a form of communication within the community.
