don't get me wrong, i love to write... that is the number one reason why i took on the daunting task of becoming a journalism student... however, increasingly i find that the real motive for my chosen path is people... i love people... meeting them, talking to them, learning from them, teaching them... people have stories and although i'm sure we need to know about our newest parliamentary shocker or car pile up, it's the soft news features that get me panting and page flipping...
so when my friend laura and i pitched our radio story to our prof today we were both struck down by how hypocritical and dismissive our "fine" journalism institution seems to be... a well remembered lesson in second year was that some of the best stories derive from what the people around you are talking about... what your roommate tears up about in her room all alone; what your family heatedly discusses at the dinner table; or what the hot topic is between the two girls beside you on the bus...
laura is getting her first ink job done on tuesday and with our looming assignment requiring us to document something of a current affairs interest, we decided what better than her pain!?!? although our prof sees things in a different light... instead of telling a story of experience she would rather we scour the parliamentary website for upcoming meetings or announcements... or perhaps cover the *yawn* ottawa home show... if we were producing a late breaking newscast then i could see the point, but otherwise i am both confused and deflated that our passion for creativity is being thrown out the window because as a 50-something year old woman she sees no interest in a comical, interesting and alternative story focusing on a tattoo parlour that only allows personal art or in-house artists' work to be inked... unfortunately she's forgetting that the radio show we are producing is geared toward our demographic...
journalism is not about press release chasing... the gems are often hidden and sometimes we need to take a chance on stories in order to see the different perspectives that fill our world... a community current affairs radio show needs voices; voices of people letting you in to what they are doing... not pretentious pundits telling me about things that i can read/see/hear about from any other media outlet...
the declaration of apprehension, the buzz of the needle, the gasp of nervousness, the calm voice of the artist as he works away and the exclamation of discomfort as the adventure draws to a close... if these sounds can't tell a story, than maybe i don't know what can... it might not be new, it might not ever make the front page, but damn it i know we'd make it entertaining...
does no one have a heart for the light-hearted side of life?
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the saying may go that "actions speak louder than words," but in my opinion words actually shout decibels above any move one could make... so expressive, interpretive and intense... all you need to find is a method to your madness to avoid rambling nonsense...
