Writings on Journalism

My most recent story on suicide resources in Flagstaff did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I had a deep emotional investment in this story and wanted it to help people that need to know about resources for suicide prevention/awareness and bereavement, locally. I cried a lot because it was really hard for me to hear about suicide, mental health issues and violence over and over again, but I kept going and was determined to make it a really good story.

Then, I found out from the person who works for Campus Connect whom I wanted to interview, Jill Sawyer, just before we were about to do the interview, that if I wanted the interview from her then, I couldn’t publish the story. (She said Campus Connect needs at least two weeks’ notice and the questions beforehand to make sure that responses are approved by higher-ups for publication). I was struggling, then, with whether I should find other interviews in a limited amount of time and maybe not get them because of the short notice, as well lose Sawyer’s perspective for the story, or take the opportunity to do the interview, fulfill the requirements of the story for the class, and not make much of a difference despite my efforts.

I chose to do interview with Sawyer and write the story fulfilling the requirements for the class. However, I think if I knew that the story was going to have a chance of being published, I would have put more effort into bugging Native Americans for Community Action for an interview and would have reached out to more people for more rounded-out interviewees and perspectives in the story. I hope that maybe another time I can do a similar story and give Campus Connects enough notice for them to approve their responses so that I can publish the story.

Something I have been wondering is how do journalists in the workplace choose their stories? Do they tell their editors about a story they are interested in and then it is approved? Can they write about anything they want to as long as it hasn’t been done the same way before? Will I be able to write about things that I care about when I am working as a professional journalist or will I be assigned stories about things I don’t care for more often?

Because I like to write about things that I think will impact people and hopefully bring about positive change, I am worried that I won’t be able to do that when I work for a newspaper. What other options are there for journalists, besides working for a newspaper (or online publication site)?

 

Another thing I am thinking about is whether reporting is actually a good position for me or if I would enjoy editing more. I hope to take an editing position in The Lumberjack soon, but until then I won’t really know what it is like to be an editor for news stories and will only have experience with writing.

Reporting, for me, is very energy-intensive. I wonder, do other people feel the same way, or am I just cripplingly introverted? I feel like most journalists feel like reporting is the perfect job for them because they like talking to people. In theory, I also like talking to new people and understanding different perspectives from my own, but I am still struggling with mustering the energy to talk to people constantly for my stories. That part is the least enjoyable for me, really no matter who they are, or whether I agree with them or not. Despite my struggles with the first part of the reporting process, I really enjoy piecing together my stories in a way that makes sense and flows nicely, and that is why I think that I would enjoy editing more than reporting.

I’m struggling with how to navigate not being trusted by community members, especially vulnerable ones. I don’t want to seem like I am tokenizing their voices, but I want to make public the voices of people who are normally marginalized.

Particularly with the most recent story I was working on, on the ICE out of Flag rally Sept. 18, I also struggled with having to remain neutral, because the rally was important for me. I want to be a public activist and organizer but I feel like I have to hide that part of who I am especially if I want to be a professional journalist. I can write my stories as unbiased as possible but I sometimes would rather not just be there to report.

Another thing I am struggling with is what if I misrepresent the people in my own community and am then isolated from them? Additionally, how do I balance the relationships that come out of my work as a journalist? How can I manage feeling like I am just taking from them and not giving anything back? What can I do to give back to people who spend valuable resources like time, energy and gas money to talk to me, especially if they don’t have much resources to spend, without creating a conflict of interest? What do journalists give back, especially if the resulting story doesn’t bring any benefit to the people who shared their perspectives or lives with us?

These are a lot more questions than reflections, but sometimes I only have questions and no answers.

It’s only our first story and I am already feeling really overwhelmed. I chose to report on the people and activities involved at this year’s Uplift climate justice conference. I wanted to go anyway and reporting on it made it feel even more justified for me to go.

I started off by recording all the panel speakers, because I knew that would be valuable somewhere later on. I was also trying to figure out whom I could interview (besides Eva Malis, the Uplift Coordinator, whom I already had interviewed for general information). Almost the whole weekend had gone by without me interviewing anyone because I wanted a really specific perspective: an indigenous youth leader, and was struggling to find someone who fit that description. I was under the impression that the majority of attendees would be of this demographic. On the last day, Mikayla Johnson, a 14-year-old activist was co-facilitating a workshop I was attending. I asked her if I could interview her and she agreed.

Even after I transcribed all the interviews and panel speakers, which took up about 7 pages and many hours, I really struggled with what angle to take. I didn’t have one until I started writing the piece. I wanted to include all the nuance in politics also, but felt that it wouldn’t be very accessible to the general Northern Arizona audience.

I’ll be honest: journalism is difficult for me. I wrote for the Culture section of The Lumberjack last semester and have not yet taken JLS131, so I have some experience with reporting but perhaps not as much as others in the class. The process of formulating questions, transcribing interviews, having my work published for all to see and particularly leaving the safety of my home to talk to strangers is still difficult for me. And even after the process is completed, I am extremely nervous that I may have misrepresented someone.

All struggles considered, I think that journalism is vital to a functioning democracy. I like the idea of calling out public figures or people with “power” who aren’t doing what they said they would do, or who are doing immoral things, and letting the public know about it. I like the idea of giving the opportunity to people whose voices aren’t heard very often to have their thoughts and feelings magnified. I like the idea of talking and understanding people whom I would not have otherwise met without journalism.

I am hoping that I will eventually get over my dread and discomfort of the journalistic process, because I really want to be able to do journalism effectively and with enjoyment. I hope to write journalistic books someday. Before that, though, I know I must be good enough for people to fund my travels and long-term projects, and in order to get good I need practice.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton