The View from Here: The blame game — Is it our fault?
Saturday’s rain delays of the Triple Crown kayaking event proved to me once again that you never know what you’re going to be doing from day to day in this profession.
People often ask if this job is interesting and of course, there’s nothing like it. And as yesterday’s events show, while some may think there is a pre-planned way to go about covering the news, nothing could be further from the truth.
I was assigned to cover the Ranger Joe Rumble Saturday and hoped to capture that event on camera. Additionally planned was a feature story about a local guy who said he would like to one day be able to compete in the event, which has been described to me as a major event that draws competitors from all over the world.
With the cancellation of yesterday’s events, however, that story seemed logically less pertinent and the photo was impossible. It changed from a feature and a photo of the racers to one, simply put, that was about rain.
Sometimes, it’s Mother Nature who changes things. Obviously, the kayakers, which included the world champion among them, were greatly affected by the change. But the news content was affected, too.
There are an awful lot of people who think news content should be peppered with positive stories about how great life is and apparently think the reflection of society, if negative, is not relevant.
While I enjoy writing something good as much as anyone else and have several positive news stories and features under my belt, the critics of this so-called negative news are missing the point. The news is supposed to be an accurate reflection of what happens and explaining the theory is as simple as saying the story changed because it rained too much.
I say all this after covering the city’s controversial pool debate for the past several months. Everyone else has opined on it, but I never have.
That was difficult because I actually supported the idea for an aquatic center, but chose not to color an election with my opinion injected into the news story. Today, however, the election is over and an outdoor pool is planned, pending financial planning and whatever else comes up.
Today, I can ethically say I believe the aldermen who voted for an aquatic center showed exemplary courage. I have heard rumors some of them have been threatened for their decisions and I don’t support that in any way.
As someone who has spent countless hours sitting through what were quite boring meetings initially started in 1999, I know their motivations weren’t bad. They wanted better quality of life.
But just as the rain changed Saturday’s events, so too, did the events leading up to the election. It’s important to note I’m equally proud of citizens who chose to say no to the aquatic center because their attendance at meetings meant they cared. It showed they weren’t apathetic about the issue, and I fully support that.
But I didn’t control or alter the events in either case, and I don’t think reporters working their beats in other media should either.
If somebody asks me if it the job is interesting, it definitely is, but not in the way most people think. It’s interesting to experience the ebb and flow of the news and experience people who appear both good and bad from an objective standpoint.
But for those who would assume a vast media conspiracy exists and say media has too much control, they are quite wrong. In almost every case, the outcome is almost always influenced by those involved, not by those who stand poised with notebooks and cameras.
(Amy Satterwhite is a reporter for the Standard. She can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at citynews@southernstandard.com.)