Give journalists a break

Wading through staples of casual conversation such as the weather, pop culture and student life, I find myself stumbling over the media lately. What used to be a bashing session in which I could easily take part is now a touchy subject for this reporter. After hundreds of hours in the newsroom, interviewing IU President Myles Brand, following the Bob Knight riot crowd and surviving election night, I have a different perspective of the press. For me, it's not "us versus them" anymore … now, I'm the "them." \nApparently, a lot of people don't like us.\nTo say the least, election coverage left a lot to be desired. Even the media didn't like the media after the November fiasco. Reporters wrote stories about faulty reporters. Web sites posted articles about erroneous Web site articles. Broadcasters were visibly chagrined.\nOne White House committee's Valentine's Day gift to journalists was a report claiming shady election coverage was a Republican conspiracy that might have skewed the results.\n"Television news organizations staged a collective drag race on the crowded highway of democracy, recklessly endangering the electoral process, the political life of the country and their own credibility, all for reasons that may be conceptually flawed and commercially questionable," said Ben Wattenberg of the American Enterprise Institute in the report, according to the CNN Web site.\n"Amen!" shouts Citizen Laura.\n"Not true!" counters Journalist Laura, hereafter referred to as "J. Lo."\nWhat really dimples Citizen Laura's chads is that she trusts these journalists. She reads and watches the news every day for information and for pleasure, not to be kept on pins and needles because some network heads wanted to break the big story.\nAs a reporter, J. Lo. is frustrated with a public that cries for instantaneous information, the inside scoop, the close-up shot, the "20/20" heartbreak, now, now, now, now, now and expects it to be free of human error.\nMy split media personality is a result of my curious nature and my journalistic training. Citizen Laura demands to know why Florida was called and re-called, why there are spelling errors in print despite fancy schmancy software and why once self-respecting newshounds are now chasing after fluff pieces to raise their speaking fees.\nCitizen Laura almost, but not quite, understands why people dub Bloomington newspapers the "Indiana Daily Stupid" and the "Horrible-Terrible." (Not the most creative titles, but we get the point.)\nJ. Lo. understands the hard work, the long hours, the low pay and the noble nature of the free press. And despite its many flaws, she loves being a part of it.\nYes, I'm the one who misspelled "Malcolm" in a headline to a story about Malcolm X last week. But I'm also part of a team that writes, polishes and presents powerful and informative information to the student body.\nWriting this column has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I love that my thoughts, my words and my experiences make people think, make people laugh and make people mad. Reader response, be it praise, well-written rhetoric or non-constructive criticism that makes me want to scream, is the highlight of many days. As a budding journalist, I can extend my reception of feedback to include comments about the media at large, good and bad.\nWhile I read letters to the editor as I edit copy, Citizen Laura cheers on the active readers who applaud and bash the IDS. When I get personal e-mails about copy editing mistakes, Citizen Laura makes a note of them and tries never to make the same mistake twice. (The operative word here is "tries.")\nSimultaneously, J. Lo. reads the letters and wonders if some of the writers remember that, while the IDS is a professional publication and we strive for the best, we're students. We're learning. By all means, call us out if we offend you, but do it in a manner that will help us learn, not make us feel dejected. As J. Lo. reads e-mails about copy mistakes, she wonders if other people have jobs. Those who work in restaurants, in residence halls, for companies, in retail sales … all these people make mistakes. It's just that their mistakes aren't set in 17,000 print editions five days a week.\nAs I write this column, I'm disenchanted with the press and the public. In a perfect press world, the truth would be printed in a completely accurate, unbiased, grammatically correct manner at the speed of light. J. Lo. certainly has her work cut out for her.\nIn a perfect society, the public would use criticism responsibly to improve the frontrunner of the Information Age, not bite the hand that feeds it. Citizen Laura needs to stop and think.