When I write, I get to talk to people from different walks of life. My job is to tell these people’s stories.
As a Journalist, it’s not my job to make people look good or bad or express my opinion on a page. My job is to tell the stories of those I encounter. I do this by asking questions about what I think readers should know.
“Tell me a little bit about yourself before we start.” “What was that like for you?” “How was that experience important?”
These are examples of things that I ask every single time I interview. Getting people’s stories is what I do. Putting them out there for you all to read is what I do.
Media is not scary. I can understand how you think it could be, but we don’t mean harm or to put your lives or livelihoods in danger. Ethics plays a large role in what we do.
“Is it ethical to put their names in this?” “This is a sensitive topic, what do I ask?” “how do I approach this?”
These are questions I ask myself and my staff ask me. We care a great deal about these stories and how they affect the people around us. We don’t go out and hunt for bad angles, we go out and hunt for the truth that each person perceives in their daily lives. What does that mean?
It means that everybody experiences a different truth and a different story. I aim to tell that story as accurately as I can through the use of quotes that I gather from different people involved in the issue or event.
Why should you speak out? If you have a story to tell that you think people should know, tell us. We will do it justice. Do you think that renting is an issue in the florence area? Tell us. Do you think that parking on campus is still an issue? Talk to us about it. We will make sure that people hear your story.
It’s important to speak out because it shows people who may not have the courage to that it will all be okay. It shows that you will not be persecuted for telling your story. We do everything in our power to tell your truth and your experience.
Last semester I wrote about accessibility issues on campus, and I got message after message about it. Good and Bad (thank you, yikyak). But no one asked me who said what, no one asked me to put their names out there and commended them for speaking out.
“Someone is finally talking about it.” “This has been an issue, at least it’s being brought up.” “Finally.”
These are actual messages and posts I saw about it. People knew that it was an issue and it being brought to light made others want to talk about it. That’s the root of my job. To inform and get people talking about what we write about.
After all my rambling, I just want to stress how important it is to do your research and trust where you get your news. The Flor-Ala strives to be a dependable source of your campus news. We strive for you all to trust us and speak out about your stories and what you believe in.