Journalism and citizens

Doing the NewsU assignment on trauma reminded me of one crucial element of journalism that I think many of us (myself included) tend to forget.

We, as journalists, are not grappling just with integrity, honesty, and bias issues. Our stories are not just about triumphs or defeats or corruption or politicians.

Our stories are about people.

I tend to forget this because of how religiously I read the New York Times--or, at least, how religiously I read the main and business sections of the NYTimes. This paper only covers the very big stories, about very big people. And when I'm constantly reading about celebrities or politicians or world leaders, I tend to forget that they are actually human.

The "President" doesn't seem human; he seems like this untouchable force with unknown authority. Congress doesn't seem like it's made up of people; it seems like a very faraway group of beings who decide my future and who are ultimately removed from my life and my problems.

And don't even get me started on the Supreme Court.

But as I watched the NewsU video, I realized that these men, powerful as they are, are only human. And not only that; I realized that for the most part, I won't be covering those huge stories. I'll likely be dealing with people who have had a terrible experience--like a death in the family, like living through an earthquake or a hurricane, or having their identity stolen.

I think that as journalists, we need to keep in mind that, while it's good to have morals and ethics based on truth and honesty, we are telling stories about people.