Dear Journalists, Please Stop Chasing Big Stories
Learn to see the ordinary in an extraordinary way
Not too many journalists jump at the chance to report on the latest city council meeting. It’s one of those things, like running to the gas station to fill up a five-gallon can with fuel, that hints at the possibility of real work heading one’s way. It’s not sexy, and unlike mowing the lawn, going shirtless is usually frowned upon.
Though it’s unlikely to win any awards, that real work — reporting on what’s happening in one’s community — is exactly what makes the local newspaper so valuable. Helping one’s neighbors to be better informed requires a fully engaged journalist. Someone who is excited by the opportunity and has the skills to communicate in a way that makes people pay attention.
Readers can sense when the journalist is phoning it in. It makes them not want to engage. They rightly figure that if the journalist didn’t like writing it, they won’t like reading it.
This holds true for pictures as well as words.
These images of a monster generator getting delivered to a water treatment plant are a good…
