Essays

Post-Fieldwork Mini Essays

I was most uncomfortable covering stories that I knew very little about beforehand. My boss told me the day of that I would be covering the Libertarian Party Convention. I had no time to prepare questions or do research to understand what I was getting myself into. I learned while I was there that Libertarians nominated their candidates through conventions rather than primary elections; I had no idea before. I interviewed the Libertarian gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Senate candidate and an author who knew everything you could imagine about U.S. foreign policy. I felt like a fish out of water. That being said, I learned fast and asked the right questions. It made me uncomfortable, but I learned a lot from the experience. I was put into a similar situation to cover the opening of the Sears Recreation Center and Branch Library. I wasn’t as nervous at all that time because I knew I could handle it.

I was most comfortable when I was assigned stories that involved research and preparation. For example, I had to do post and pre-interview research for a story about Bexa breast exams. Preparing questions beforehand gave me confidence that I knew what I was talking about and wouldn’t come off as ignorant through the questions that I asked. My research included discovering who is at the highest risk of getting breast cancer and the implications of each stage of breast cancer. Including the research in the story gave context to why getting breast exams is important, making the final story complete and informative.

The fieldwork opened my eyes to multi-media coverage. Going into this internship, I thought I was just going to write stories, but I ended up also enjoying taking photos and videos. Journalists have to look for creative and entertaining ways to tell a story. Photos and videos are a huge part of that. It’s one thing to hear or read a quote, but it’s another thing to see a photo of the person you are reading from or listening to. My internship taught me important differences between approaches to audio and print storytelling. Radio scripts are supposed to be casual. You can abbreviate some citations, and you generally have less space to tell your story, so you can usually only tell the most important parts of the story. I liked telling stories through audio because I could communicate emotions through the tone of my narrating voice and through interview quotes. I enjoyed writing print stories because I could go into more intimate story details that radio doesn’t necessarily allow space for. 

My faith came into play during my internship when I covered stories that I knew could have a positive impact on people’s lives. I would ask God to help me cover them to the best of my ability. Working for a higher purpose gave me motivation when I was on the verge of burnout or getting really stressed out.

These are a few of the stories that I was excited to do because I knew they could help people: 

• “Community and connection: Improving mental health for older adults” 
• “Recognizing escalation in domestic abuse, how to get help”
•  “Where uninsured West Texans can find affordable care”
• “Draft bill seeks to reveal government officials’ Epstein ties”
• “Kairos Prison Ministry restores lives on both sides of prison gates”
• “Free breast exams reach underserved West Texas communities”

An ethical dilemma I grappled with was figuring out how to be conversational with politicians and protestors while remaining impartial. I covered a No Kings Rally that took place in Abilene. While everyone chanted and cheered, I stood quietly with my camera around my neck and recorder in my hand. I couldn’t help but feel like I was being judged for not standing behind their cause and cheering with them. At the Libertarian convention, a woman was speaking about a bill that would keep National Guard members from being deployed. Off the record, I mentioned that I had an uncle in the National Guard who was deployed to Syria. After the fact, I wondered if I shouldn’t have said that. Living in the moment, it felt like just part of natural conversation, but as a journalist, it’s my job not to let any of my personal bias affect what I write about. Naturally, even journalists have their own opinions, but letting people know where I stand on certain issues could get me in trouble in the future. This particular example wasn’t that big of a deal, but moving forward, I know I’ll be more conscious about comments like that. 

If I had to do it all over again in JMC, I would put more effort into my Media Maker class. I took that class freshman year, which was before I started working for KACU or the Optimist. I didn’t realize how important photo, audio and video editing skills would end up being for the kind of work I want to do. I ended up figuring it out and learning a lot on my own. However, I still wish I were a better video editor. This year, I’ve made a documentary and a video feature. I have good ideas, and I enjoy the video editing process, but it takes me a long time, and there are still controls and tools that I have to relearn every time I open Premiere. I’m also pretty sure I make the editing process a lot harder than it needs to be because I don’t know the shortcuts. 

I learned to appreciate diversity in the workplace when I covered the MLK Banquet and March. I got to shake the hand of Rosa Parks’ nephew and spoke with a woman who grew up in a segregated school. As a young person, it’s hard to imagine a world where segregation exists. Covering the MLK events helped me realize that history still has an effect on the memories and lives of people who lived through that time. I learned that I can tell the stories of races that are not my own. I wrote a feature about Shawnte Fleming, the founder of Let Us Breathe. We had a long conversation over coffee about how the Black community of Abilene has evolved since Fleming was a kid.

I functioned above expectations because I knew how to manage my time and be proactive. I covered stories that I found on my own, as well as stories that Mr. Miller assigned me. I was always working on something. One week, I had interviews going on for four stories at once. It was stressful with soccer and school, but I never let myself get too anxious, and I stayed focused on what my goals were. It was worth it to me because I knew the stories I was writing were meaningful and had the potential to help people. My work ethic and commitment to producing good work make me a good journalist and reporter.