What reporters are really thinking

I've been enjoying Overheard in the Newsroom gradually throughout the day.

Reporters spend hours choosing the perfect words for their stories. If you've ever wondered what they're really thinking, you should check it out...

Multimedia journalists

One of D.C.'s TV news stations has the right idea.

The broadcast station is hiring "multimedia journalists," reporters who will shoot and edit their own stories. WUSA's cameramen will also be changing roles, some of which could even land them on-air.

This is the direction that newspapers need to be heading. One-man multimedia journalists. Reporters who not only investigate and write their own stories, but also shoot some video, edit it and even take some pictures. Add in some blogging and you have an all-around multimedia package that will keep people coming back for more.

Yes, it will take a lot of work on the reporter's part, but honestly, I don't think that's a bad thing with newspapers struggling as much as they are. A little hard work and determination certainly won't hurt anything.

Epiphanies in Kroger

Today I went to the grocery store to buy flowers, kettle chips and green grapes. When I was in the check-out line, my cashier engaged me in a few minutes of polite conversation - what I was doing for Thanksgiving, where I was from, and so on.

Then, she asked me, "So what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Immediately, I responded, "A journalist."

After I thanked her and started walking to my car, I started thinking about that little snippet of conversation. First of all, I realized I wasn't offended by the fact that she didn't consider me "grown up" yet. In my mind, I'm never going to reach a point in my life where I'm like, "Oh, this is what I wanted to be when I grew up." I think I'm always going to be challenging myself and finding new ways to use my skills to help others. The job that I start out with will be nowhere near the job that I'll end with. And I'm more than okay with that.

Secondly, I thought about my response to her question. The first thing that came to my mind wasn't "reporter" or "copy editor" or "ad salesman." First and foremost in my mind, I am a journalist. So what is a journalist and what does that make me?

Wikipedia says that a journalist (or newspaperman?) is "a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for non-bias viewpoint."

In that sense, yes, I definitely consider myself a journalist. But I feel like being a journalist today is so much more than just gathering and disseminating news.

Being a journalist is giving people the tools they need to live life to the fullest. Being a journalist is being a citizen. It's serving your country. It's doing what you know is right. It's providing information in all forms. It's being a neighbor. It's creating a safe haven for people to share their views and talk with each other. It's truth, and it's justice.

And I'm going to continue being a journalist, whether I'm grown up or not.

Election night adventures

Congrats, Obama!

Yesterday, I got to call in to the paper the precinct numbers of a neighboring county. It was a 30-minute drive to the courthouse where I was reporting from, and I got lost approximately four times on the way there. (Who builds their courthouse out in the middle of nowhere? With no signs?!)

The first precincts had already come in when I got there, so I was busy right from the get-go. Everything went without a hitch until the 18th precinct, which were the absentee ballots. Then all hell broke loose. The ballot machine stopped reading the sheets at the same time that they discovered hundreds of torn ballots that had to be duplicated. Luckily, I had a lot of reading to get done, so the six hours went by fairly quickly.

At 1 a.m., the final numbers came in, and I skeedaddled. Then, I got lost again on the way home.

Ah, so that's why I do what I do

Happy First Day of Fall! It's officially my favorite season.

So I haven't posted in a while. I don't know how my head is still attached after last week and looking into this week. I've had three tests and I have a total of six performances this week between the two choirs that I sing with. (Side note: Ending sentences with prepositions is a pet peeve of mine, but I didn't see any way around that one.) I'm also serving as a "citizen journalist" for a health care forum Thursday that's part of the National Issues Forums. Quite a busy schedule.

However, today I remembered why I love being a journalist.

In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our paper is embarking on a Think Pink campaign. We're going to print a special section every Sunday on pink paper (trust me, it looks better than it sounds!), feature profiles of local women's struggles with breast cancer, and include some statistics and advice about how often women should get mammograms, perform self-checks, etc. It's a big deal.

I've been put in charge of the local profiles, so I've spent the past two weeks struggling to get a hold of somebody, anybody, at the local hospitals. Finally last Friday I got two leads, and I had my first interview today. It feels good to be getting somewhere.

The interview was like none I've ever done. My experience has been with small community papers where an interview means asking questions about the exact measurements of the YMCA's longest ice cream sundae or the rezoning of a controversial chicken plant. (And yes, those are based on real events.) All of a sudden, I'm talking to a woman about the hardest thing she's ever been through - the turning point in her life - and I still have to get the answers to the deep, personal questions that I've typed up on Microsoft Word without sounding impersonal. How do you find the perfect balance?

It's all about the approach. First off, I let her know exactly what I was doing and how I would be using her information. I see it as a way of reassuring her that I'm professional and trustworthy. I also set the speed of my interview a little slower and more relaxed. If you blaze through the questions like a robot, she's not going feel like expounding on anything and her true feelings and persona won't break through.

It's all about the tone. Maintain sentimentality without condescending or pitying. This is a woman whose life has been turned upside down by what she's been through, but she's also a woman of strength and courage. Treat her like the heroine that she is.

It's all about the story. Every woman's experience is different, and every woman's experience is incredible. Take in every detail and every side note, even if the conversation strays from your initial questions. Though you may not be able to publish the complete story, you can't do this woman's story justice without having all of the facts.

Ultimately, it's all about hope. Millions of women worldwide have been diagnosed with breast cancer and must battle the second-leading killer of women with only courage and friends and family beside them. It's scary. But it's also preventable and if you catch it early enough, you can beat it.

That's why I love what I do. I get to share the stories of women who have been through this, and can give better advice than maybe even their doctors can, with the public. Readers could include women who may have just been diagnosed, women who are nervous about getting their first mammogram, or women who may one day have to struggle with the disease. I can provide hope for all of them by allowing one woman's voice to be heard.

At the end of the day, I don't think I could ask for a better job.