Alumni Corner: The power of good journalism
I had always wanted to write the Great American Novel or a book of poetry that would hit the masses like Rupi Kaur’s. I’d maybe teach on the side to fund my bills whilst I struggle to write. But then a new seed was planted when I joined the high school newspaper.
I found that I could truly write for a living. I saw that instead of chronic freelancing and self-publishing, I could write for an organization. I could have some semblance of security writing and doing only that.
No teaching, just immersing myself in the craft.
The stories I’d write would be real, about real people and their real experience. It could be about issues in an honest way, not like I would inadvertently write about in fiction.
I could make a difference by exploring problematic societal constructs, by dismantling inequalities faced by the disenfranchised. I could cover important topics that go unacknowledged.
I could also write about arts and culture and get paid for going to concerts.
Say what? The list is endless.
I wanted to do all of this, but it wasn’t until I got to graduate school in the University of Georgia’s journalism program that I would come to find that this task is so much more than my romanticized ideas.
Throughout my young adult life, I’ve written articles covering all sorts of subjects, but the complicated and rigorous concept of reporting didn’t really register until my first semester at Grady.
I was called to find a story on health care in rural Georgia, which inevitably covered a lack of access to vital resources such as fresh foods and health care providers.
It required hours worth of travel and as always, a keen eye for detail. I interviewed over 10 individuals while trying to find my story, including an evasive representative from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
After digging through information on the internet, including but not limited to pre-existing articles, financial reports, studies from the school’s library database and interview transcriptions, I had to consider how I was going to synthesize all of it and if it even made sense to.
I was overwhelmed with information.
Every word, phrase, sentence and anything that uses any of the five senses, which is everything, can and should be fact-checked. First with my many read-throughs and then the editor’s.
For the aforementioned story, I went to Crawfordville, Georgia, the county seat of Taliaferro County, which has roughly 1700 people.
Thus, finding sources wasn’t something I could easily do. I had a few key players in mind and reached out to them, but I couldn’t settle with only key players.
I needed community insight. I literally dropped myself into this town, walked around and up to people on the street. I moved through my social anxiety and did things I never thought I could do.
At one point, I boldly pulled over when I saw some guy doing landscaping. I got out of my car, whipped out my recorder, my camera and started asking questions. I’m glad I did because he pointed me in the direction of a well-known community member, a town historian of sorts.
From there, I went where he told me to go, knocked on an 80-some-year-old Mr. Forehand’s door and sat with him in his home for over an hour. We talked about his life, his love, his problems and his terminal cancer.
This may or may not be a common practice, but a journalist has to dig unabashedly.
Journalism is work. I don’t write on a whim. It can be a mess.
Insert the Pepe Silvia meme here.
I’ve collaborated with editors to determine the best course of action on touchy topics.
I’ve reached out to sources for clarity so that I can be as accurate as possible, subsequently humbling myself and making corrections. I’ve had my story ripped apart by editors and reconstructed--an extreme offense to any writer.
I’m saying all of this to illustrate that even in this age of citizen journalism, journalism isn’t some blasé gig. Critics look at one poorly researched, written story and punish all of journalism.
But I believe in the power of good journalism. It’s a public well house of knowledge, a platform for concerns, facts and opinion. It’s the fourth estate, folks.
I’m about it and you should be too.
Editor’s Note: This column was written by Amber Perry, an alumnus of both USC Aiken and Pacer Times. While on staff, Amber first served as copy editor and then went on to become opinions editor, later graduating from USCA with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. She is currently attending graduate school at the Grady College of Journalism at UGA.
