Show I. I I Searching for Truth in all the all the wrong places places' 4 s J Norbert Bensch Contributing Writer By the power vested in me as a journalist I hereby declare that the things you read in this paper or any other paper are not the truth TJ D ut you say the paper has the facts Dwell a fact is to truth what a cup of sand is isto isto isto to the beach Playground sand isn't the beach Golf course sand isn't the beach Iraqi sand is definitely not the beach Beaches have sand but they also have ocean waves pushing and pulling They have breezes and gales moving the sand and animals living above and below it Sand out of context is annoying gritty stuff It gets in your socks and blows under most doorways often a mess not a castle That's what facts are But you plead the paper has trained reporters people who know the truth So because I enrolled in journalism while you took nursing or engineering I am made keeper of the very moral public gate Im I'm in journalism I know where commas go When t I graduate I may even know how to use a colon Journalists work on words like mechanics work on cars Were We're just different not special We walk no moral high ground We bear no gifted insight At our best we vividly present facts in a completely neutral manner The unbiased unbiased unbiased un un- biased journalist is a modern urban myth like the choking doberman or the hundred mile per gallon carburetor Everyone's heard of it but nobody's actually seen it Placed on a beach a reporter is a sieve on a windy day Pour the entire beach through the sieve Some common sized pieces will pass through Those common things are what you you find in the paper the easy stories publicity releases and sensational scandals Some very very fine material will pass through and be blown away in the wind These are arc things reporters write but editors edit or sponsors and owners cut for their own motives The writing is too artsy too too sensitive to publish Some material will be too coarse and never get through the sieve at all These are all the stories we know about but never write the facts we gather but dont don't understand the hard stories that fall victim to an early deadline or hectic schedule Enough You beg If the paper hasn't got the truth and reporters arent aren't special sped aI where do I go to find it Who can tell me the truth Youre You're the college student Figure it out Use a brain cell Read our paper then read other papers But remember they're not written written written writ writ- ten by gods They're written by people just like you Reporters see interpret and write through their own perspective Through their own ex ex- ex- ex Sometimes they're exactly right Frequently they're not Look for supporting evidence in your own background Ask some tough questions not only of the attacked but butof butof butof of the attackers Who are they What are their motives Do they have personal agendas involved involved involved in in- Are you reading news or propaganda What forces are pushing and pulling at the facts Finally after gathering the information information available go to the beach Take off your shoes Feel the sand and the water between your toes Breathe some fresh air and think about it |