My News about the News
Music: “Where has all the Love Gone” by Sheryl Crow"Today I saw the strangest thing on the evening news:
A man who wasn't sad at all about what's going on."
This line makes me smile every time I hear it, but probably for a different reason than the songwriter intended. One of the most common complaints I hear about journalism is that we don't cover happy stories. There are typically two responses to this grievance.
The first one, made by diplomatic people, argues that the media does recount positive stories. The problem is they are too often overshadowed by disastrous stories since tragic events more easily grip public perception. Upbeat stories are out there, you just miss them.
The second retort, often repeated by more cynical journalists, is a little more direct: “Sorry about missing your last bake sale, but we were too busy covering the latest abuse of power on the other side of town. We'll be sure to drop by for the next one; unless there's another major drug bust/sex scandal/12-car pileup/embezzling charge and subsequent resignation/lawsuit/murder mystery/or natural disaster at the same time. In that case, we’ll issue another rain check and hope this one doesn’t bounce.”
On calmer days, I would admit the difference is somewhere between the two primary explanations. Good stories are in the paper; they’re just more often buried on the inside after a breaking debacle bumped them off the front. We often default towards the harsher news because it seems more important at the time. One hopes the depraved is a departure from the routine, so we ignore the status quo.
As part of an old design project, I once sketched out a paper that celebrated stories that would normally be skipped. “Grass grows!” was the top story. “Sun also rises” was the sidebar. The idea is that these are important things that happen everyday but they are rarely highlighted on the front page unless something goes wrong.
The challenge is for journalists is to get both kinds of stories out there. The human experience is comprised of victories and defeats, big and small. If the news is to reflect that we, as gatekeepers, need to work harder to achieve that balance.
Of course, it's easy to spout theory and philosophy when you're sitting on the sidelines. It's a bit different when you're about to start doing it on a daily basis. By that I mean to say that I’m picking up some extra responsibility on behalf of the profession and the citizens of Rock Springs, Wyoming.
In case you hadn’t heard through other outlets, I’ve landed a copyediting/design/managerial position. My trip to the Daily Rocket-Miner went very well and they offered me the job I was quick to accept.
While I can’t point to any single experience I related or question I answered, I think my exploding pen helped me. I mentioned it once before, but during my flight to Denver, I had a red ink pen detonate in my fingers due to the change in cabin pressure. I did my best to clean it up on the plane and later in the terminal bathroom (doesn’t that sound ominous), but I was still severely besmeared. Walking into the Rock Springs terminal, the publisher was able to pick me the copyediting applicant largely thanks to his splotchy hand.
Personally, I would think I’d be apt to take points off a prospective copyeditor if they didn’t appear ink smudged somewhere in the testing process. By starting out that way, I hope I started things out on the right foot.
I will be flying out to Wyoming on January 2. That leaves me time to rendezvous with several branches of the family tree prior to heading out west. I’m scrambling to nail down as many details prior to taking off as I can. It’s a bit unnerving have such a prolonged gap between the end of the school and the start of my first major job. Still, the excitement is overpowering the anxiety and I’m looking forward to making this jump.
I still find myself in an interesting place. Between all the checklists and the insurance questions and winter wardrobe shopping and book hoarding (buying books that I won’t read until January) and other complications, I still find myself thinking about the larger questions that face journalists and how I have a have a chance to make an impact. Cool.
“Today I saw the strangest thing…”
