As a journalist, I have learned that I will be spending a lot of my time throughout my career doing things that most people would feel too awkward or pushy doing. To get the news, and to keep the public informed, journalists may have to put themselves in uncomfortable situations to get to the bottom of a story, and to ensure that the truth is the only thing printed.
Interviewing someone after they have had a death in the family may seem insensitive, and asking a politician about their latest marriage scandal may produce awkward silences or result in an angry politician, but that's part of the job. Just like it's not uncommon for a journalist to have to track down a source, or call and email them to the point of being obnoxious if they are an important part of the story.
Without journalists, the public would either have to stay uninformed or rely on whatever information they could get from the Internet, which may or may not be true.
So to me it's frustrating when I hear people say that we are in the business of "ruining people's lives," or that we are twisting the truth to get a better story.
Not only does twisting the truth harm whomever the article is about, but it also harms the journalist's credibility, which is arguably the most important credential that a journalist can have, and one that we don't want to lose.
Sometimes, printing the truth isn't enough, and sources still feel that they have been poorly represented or taken advantage of.
I wrote an article last week on Katherine Webb and AJ McCarron having a reality show for their upcoming wedding. I interviewed three members of the Webb family. They were all aware that I was a reporter, and that I intended to publish my article through The Auburn Plainsman.
Once the article came out they had a change of heart and asked if we could take the article down, because they realized that they had made a mistake in discussing the reality show with a reporter so soon.
This put me in a tough situation because I had no intention of causing any problems with the Webb family by writing the article, but I also didn't feel like it should be taken down just because they changed their minds.
Journalism is not the business of pleasing everyone. It is the business of informing the public, staying honest, having full disclosure with your sources, and getting the news out as fast as possible.
I can't control what happens after one of my stories is published. All that I can do is make sure that my facts are correct, that my quotes are accurate, and that the message is clear.
Sometimes an article gets a different reaction from the public than a source thought it would. This is not a valid reason for the source to blame the journalist, or to feign ignorance and say that they didn't realize that the article would be published.
Before I even begin an interview, I always make sure my source knows who I am, who I work for, when the article is set to be published, and what exactly it is about. I do this to prevent confusion and to ensure that a source isn't caught off guard when they read the article.
There are biased and corrupt journalists in the field, just like there are corrupt workers in any field, but there are also journalists who have a passion for reporting, investigating, and informing the public in the most honorable way possible.
Kailey Miller is an intrigue reporter for The Auburn Plainsman. She can be contacted via email at kgm0003@auburn.edu
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