I believe in what I do. I belive in the mission and power of the press. I believe a free press is a vital and necessary part of our society. And perhaps most importantly, I believe in the power of truth and the power of information and I am honored to be counted among those who disseminate information to the public.
But some days, I wonder why I bother.
The most frustrating part of being a reporter is that no matter what, some people just don’t understand what I do or why I do it. To some, I will always be someone just seeking to pry into people’s personal business, glorify criminals and stir up controversy.
And being reminded of that shakes me. It shakes my belief in what I do and my purpose as a reporter. You hear something enough and you start to believe it. And I don’t really believe it, but the idea that it could in fact be believable is a bit jarring.
But then there are days like today, where I’m being hit from all sides by people who think that I’m nothing but a gossip-monger, someone who wants to glorify criminals. Heck, someone even commented on a story of mine today that they were giving up their subscription to the paper because of the story. Today, by all accounts, should have been one of those jarring days.
But it wasn’t. Today reaffirmed my belief in what I do despite all the attacks. What’s weird is that this is about the worst round of attacks I’ve taken. But I know that the story I published was the right one. It was a story that needed to be told and that no matter what anyone says, it is better that the story has been told.
