Keeping the faith and being old

Much mewling and creweling appears here at Jeers concerning the perceived disdain in which our craft is held. It is so unfair.

It helps to remember that everyone hates:
• lawyers
• politicians
• intellectuals
• religious leaders
and anyone else who might think or be different than us.

We complain that our work is unappreciated.

When was the last time you thanked the janitor for cleaning the restroom or the bag boy for appropriately packing your groceries or the second-grade teacher for teaching your child to read and write?

Actually we are appreciated a whole lot more than sometimes we deserve.

Those that deserve it might include the staff of the New Orleans paper. Remember them? There readers still do. They stayed and did their job and made a difference.

Moddy's thread on the Sports and News board reminded me of something I found yesterday from the spokesman for VaTech, Larry Hinker, with whom I had a long professional relationship.

Q: I know that your job is collaborative with the media, obviously, but have your feelings changed toward it since last April?

A: Yes and no. I have become very close to several reporters, because we endured it together; I mean, it was a cauldron for all of us. I really, really understand and respect the role of the media in our society better than before. I've always been the apologist for the first amendment. Everybody loves to hate the media, right? But we don't realize in this country how much we rely on the media for so many things … It really is fundamental to our society. I'll give you what I've said publicly, and media was true to form: National media blew into town, had to solve the problems in 48 hours. Broadcast media has got its problems, and the print media are the ones that I end up relying on to make sure that the story was right.

Q: Was there anything that stuck out in your mind as being extraordinary coverage, that you would think back on and be glad to have that piece of history?

A: Yeah, I will tell you that there is nothing harder for a reporter to write than a story about a sudden death. To see those folks having to do it 32 times, to see what you guys did, to see the Roanoke Times, and The New York Times and The Washington Post … and to do it delicately and appropriately was helpful to me because I was in a maelstrom. The first week, well you saw it; we didn't get any sleep for a week. We hardly knew what was going on, and that's how I found out what was going on. Believe it or not, I read the newspaper, that's how I found out who these wonderful people were. So yeah, I think that was very helpful to me and to the world, because that's where I talk about the service that the media does for us. We hate the intrusion in our lives, certainly those mourning and grieving families hated the intrusion, and that's how the rest of the world was able to mourn with us.

Just do the damn job, and you might have a fighting chance of making a difference. And remember that it's likely no one will thank you.

 

Bravo, cousin Wretch.

 

good stuff

thanks

 

Amen.