When Journalism Becomes the News

Yes, it's been an entire month since my last post. Shame on me. All the 'experts' say blogs lose their oomph if you don't write a zillion times every day. I don't even have a good excuse. It's not that there haven't been stories to write about, or that I've been too busy. Neither is true. Maybe that's the problem.


Should I have written about the depressing layoffs of reporters at local newspapers? Or the tragic loss of Marie Colvin, an enormously courageous reporter killed recently while doing her job in Syria? Or the despicable practices at Murdoch's News Corp monster? Even the arrogance of a radio host who thought he could say anything he wanted on the air about women (and is happily now learning he can't as advertisers cancel their contracts)? Or how about the rise in video departments at traditional print papers?

I could have commented on each story, on how each reveals another change in the news landscape. Sigh. Or that each shows just how complex and dynamic this business is. Not really news either; after all, media moguls and economic challenges have always made it tough for the good folks committed to truth-telling, even if it's costly.


So I think I'll just settle for this: journalism is too often mistaken for either profits or entertainment, when it's neither. And truth keeps getting harder to find in the mess of basic hubris and constant information. With so many fancy gadgets in our reporting bag, you'd think it'd be clear as light. But these days, it takes a long time to get past the blur of news about news to get at the news we need. 

All that to say, it might be a while again before I post something. I'll try to do better, though, in hopes that others might as well.

Seeing and Not Seeing: Behind the Good Stories

A glance at today's headlines shows what reporters are noticing about presidential candidates, housing foreclosures, whistleblowers and even who wore what to the Super Bowl. A reporter's job, of course, is to be the eyes of those people who are not hearing the candidates debate, who cannot sit in on a congressional hearing or couldn't come close to affording the tickets to the big game. I'm grateful for the more astute reporters, those who observe with their senses, scribble them in their notebooks and translate the details for those of us who aren't front and center at history's first draft.

But often there is much that isn't in a story. When I read, for instance, of the recent riots at a soccer match in Egypt that killed 74 people, it was a friend who works with coaches there that helped me know something was missing: some Egyptian coaches felt they hadn't done enough to help young people understand the ethics of sport. They took some responsibility for the tragedy.

Or when a reporter friend sent me a link to a story about the paintings, safes and jewelry now at the bottom of the sea because of the cruise ship disaster in Greece, he reminded me again of the hidden parts of every story. Most passengers lost more than a holiday—they lost heirlooms that have a story of their own. And who knows what stories will come from those who go in search of them?

The Catholic southern novelist Flannery O'Connor once quipped that, "The writer never has to apologize for staring. There is nothing that doesn't require his attention." Staring at what is seen—and not seen—is at the heart of good journalism.

2012 Lessons from A Dog's Life (or Clark Kent's Secrets for Better Living)

This is Clark Kent. Really. He's resting here on a pillow on our couch. In fact, he pretty much rests most of the time, in between of course, hunting and catching the ball, eating, and going for walks. It's a great life he has at the Daily Planet, and I'm glad he shares it with us.

Of the many things Clark is good at, he's probably best at sniffing. Shoes, laps, garbage cans, sidewalks, you name it, he's a really good sniffer. Yes, he's also probably the smartest dog in the universe, but sniffing? He surpasses all.

Which got me thinking: Imagine how good it'd be to sniff out stories—or moments in 2012—with equal verve to Clark's abilities. Or to take steps away from life's busyness to rest on pillows. Or to play with so much vigor and focus, and then to relax with such whimsical trust, that the year's responsibilities suddenly took on new meaning. Who knows? New identities might emerge from every phone booth we encounter, and new perspectives might be won. The sidewalk, I'm sure, would never look the same.

'War Horse': Stories Beyond the First Draft

There are some stories journalism just can't tell with the same impact. At least, after that first draft of history. World War I, of course, is one. Chronicled well by numerous 'embedded' reporters, the war led humanity into new directions of horror: horses suddenly were no match for early versions of tanks and machine guns. New industry meant new military advantages, and greater heartbreaks. Still, the animal's loyalty—as well as the humans who cared for him—somehow occasionally surpassed that of the atrocities.

And modern audiences are the better for one such story. Though first a novel, one specific tale of a boy and his horse during the war was best told not through newspapers. Or even films. But on the stage. Theatre at its finest takes those same truths that journalism holds so dear and invites—as does the fourth estate—the people to engage in it. It reveals each side of the story, and sets forth characters, conflict, and emotion that teach us far more than the who, what and where. In fact, it's such raw emotion, communicated through the artistry of theatre at its most imaginative, that viewers see the war as they never could in black and white newsprint.

My recent visit to New York's Lincoln Center production of the story "War Horse" moved and stirred me in ways equal to the best reporting, but requiring of me much more. It was truth-telling at its most revealing, where language came up short but the message remained stunningly profound. It is a story worth seeing well beyond any draft.

The Difference a Day Makes

Yes, the next generation of reporters—and veteran reporters as well—still get inspired when coming face to face with the history of journalism. These photos of a recent trip to Washington D.C.'s Newseum reflect the importance of field training!

Occupy . . . 24/7 Media!

A recent college graduate I know decided—rather spontaneously—to explore for herself some of the recent "Occupy Wall Street" protests in her nearby city. Along with a few of her friends, she arrived at a park, grabbed a pre-fab sign and stood on a corner expressing her right to protest what she saw as "economic inequality." It was a personal participation in democracy for a political science major.

Within a few hours, a reporter from a major daily newspaper stopped by to chat. The grad expressed appreciation for her college education, felt well prepared and given great experiences, but that, alas, she had yet to secure the job of her dreams. The reporter scribbled and nodded and walked away. The grad held her sign higher and when evening came, traveled back to her apartment with her friends, glad for the opportunity of solidarity.

Until the next day. The grad read in horror one lone quote out of all she'd told the reporter. Out of context, she appeared in print as other than she knew herself to be. And her education continued as 24/7 bloggers and lazier reporters grabbed that quote (without one calling the graduate to verify if she'd really said it) and recycled it for their own—often ugly—purposes. One lone sentence ripped from the bigger story of this graduate's life threw her into a tailspin of doubts: maybe she hadn't looked hard enough to get a job. Maybe she wasn't qualified. Maybe she shouldn't have protested.

When reporters get it wrong, especially in this 24/7 news cycle, more than just a story goes awry. Talented and well meaning young people who want to make a difference are affected, their vision to contribute is compromised, their voice diminished a little more than it should have been. They begin to think twice about what they can and can't do, and worse, who they can and can't trust in the media. Without truth in context, the news defeats the very purpose it was supposed to provide: reporting accurate information that helps citizens draw their own conclusions about what should or should not be occupied.

Kudos to Local Journalism

Local editor Dave Olson of the Salem News recently reminded readers and students alike of the important role a community newspaper plays. But he also focused on the need for verification and on the record sources, aspects of a story that maintain the integrity of a newspaper. Without those fundamental components of journalism, readers lose trust in the paper . . . and the industry. But as long as good reporters (and editors) pay attention to these, communities are served with the information they need to draw their own conclusions.
Kudos to Dave! Read his op ed.