I am not the media. I am a journalist.
I stand at city council meetings and listen to three hours of agenda so I can explain to you what your city government is doing. I travel to far off countries to try and explain why your brother or sister was killed in a foreign conflict. I work with every ounce of my body to try and provide context to why people kneel during the national anthem and protest at the murder of a black man by the police. Sometimes I’m asked to explain why a small minority of protesters are looting and rioting. The answer is often not what I would like it to be. I am constricted by a word count or a time limit. I cannot begin to express the indignity of systemic racism and how it has after hundreds of years boiled over into anger, fear, and hatred. I hate that I cannot do better, and provide clear answers. This is not an excuse for those rioters, but it is a reason. If you don’t grapple with these types of personal and ethical dilemmas in regards to your storytelling every minute of every day, you are not a journalist.
I work as diligently as possible to not paint with a broad brush. I strive to be incisive with my observations and even-handed. I have my biases. I work as hard as I possibly can to be unbiased in my reporting. Unbiased means to give each side their time to talk. It does not mean condoning murder and police brutality. It does not mean condoning looters and rioters. I do try to provide context to that though. An unjustified murder of one person by the government is one too many. It always trumps looting and loss of private property. That is not bias, that is the scales of justice. If I were doing a story on the Holocaust and had the opportunity to interview Adolf Hitler I would. I believe that his own words and actions will show my readership and my audience exactly who he is. I do not need to tell you to hate him. You will based on your own morality. If you don’t believe this, you are not a journalist.
I am not a monolith. I am your neighbor, your friend, your relative. I live in your community. I try my best to be fair. I make mistakes. When I make mistakes people can be hurt mentally or physically by that. That’s why I take my job so seriously and my ethical and moral obligations so personally. When I make a mistake, I try to own it as soon as I possibly can and in a manner that will reach as many people as the origin of said mistake. I care deeply about my city, county, state, country, and world. I am not a mouthpiece for your professional sports team, your local university, the government, or some nebulous corporation. Not once have I done some unseen master’s bidding in my reporting. It’s my name and my reputation literally on that line every day. When I have run into managerial overreach I push back as vehemently as possible and will stand my ground when asked to do something for the benefit of the entity that owns my newspaper, television station, or website. Even if it means losing my job over it. If you are not willing to do this, you are not a journalist.
I stand always with objective truth and fact-finding. I read and watch press conferences and even other news organizations with an eye that is constantly looking for misinformation and deceit. I understand the power of loaded words and biased reporting. I understand that the enticing visuals and powerful stories I have at my disposal do not afford me the right to manipulate that story in a way that will benefit me and my personal biases. That becomes propaganda. Personal propaganda instead of governmental, but propaganda nonetheless. It is because I understand the immense power of words and haunting visuals that I treat them so incredibly carefully. If you do not strive to do the same, you are not a journalist.
I am not the media. I am not a corporation. I am not the Murdoch family, Comcast, National Amusements, or Disney. I am not the Time Warner Corporation. I am not Sinclair or Gannett, or any other media company. I may be employed by those companies but I do not put my reputation on the line every day to appease them. I put my name on the line every day to inform you. If you do not listen or do not believe my words I am sorry. I try to inform but I do not try to convince or sway you. It is your right to disregard what I say. It is your right to hate me for saying something you disagree with. It is not my intent to incite you or anger you. It is my solemn duty, my job — protected by our Bill of Rights — to be a watchdog for the people. To be a watchdog for you. If your city government passed a law that allowed the property next to you to be fracked I would tell your story. I would work for you to explain why this could potentially be a bad decision by the government. I am here for you. By telling that story I may upset a person who is pro-business and pro-economy. I am also for a good economy and businesses that employ people in my community. But I am for mankind first and foremost. I make sure that the pursuit of happiness by American citizens is not infringed on so a company can make more money. If a business or a corporation tries to infringe on that right, I will be there. Simply by being there I may make you upset. I cannot help that. I can only try my best to be as even-keeled as possible in telling the most difficult of stories. You may not like me or like what you think I represent, but in the end, the ONLY thing I represent is you. Your family, your friends, and your co-workers are my business. My business is to let all people know when things aren’t right in their neighborhood. If you do not believe that journalism is a calling to help others than you are not a journalist.
I am not the media, I am a journalist.
