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How Journalism Affects Rural
America
| What Rural Folk Want from Journalists |
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Mr. Al Cross Mr. Cross, Some afterthoughts on the conf. and news reporting. I learned a great deal yesterday from the journalism perspective of writing, etc. That was all new to me. One interesting component was the session by the MU student on what I call "The Word Game" - word framing, etc. But that aside, what I wanted to say is that people like me, John Q. Public, rely heavily on journalists, not only to keep us informed, but to sway our opinions, form our opinions, get us fired up or calmed down or worry us. Their jobs are so important. Yesterday by accident, I met Paul Nyden for the first time. We were both looking for room 319. When I realized it was Paul Nyden I told him, "I am that person who sends you emails from Summersville, West Virginia on stories you write for the Charleston Gazette because I like your reporting so much." The other day when a friend sent me the article in the Times, I immediately sent a letter off to Mr. Francis X. Clines, NYT Editorial Board on the Nov. 7 article. I told Mr. Clines I was worried he had forgotten about Appalachia and what was happening here but his latest article had erased that fear. I thanked him for writing it. I realize the driving force behind the article could have been something other than what I thought. When Francis X. Clines covered Appalachia I followed his reporting and read as many articles as I could find written by him. The same thing applies to Paul Nyden and Ken Ward of the Gazette. When I see an article written by those reporters I use that information to form my opinions. I may change that opinion later but I don't have the time to read and evaluate all sides to every issue so I need a trustworthy reporter to give me the information necessary to form an opinion. I guess you would very well say I may be naive to think some journalist care about many of those issues they write about instead of just their "beat" but I like that way of thinking. It would be safe to say that most people do not think like I do, but for those who think a tiny bit like I do, journalist need to know they play an important role in our lives - how we feel about issues and how we form our own opinions. Our lastest technology is good and bad in the world of news. Because in the isolated area where I live we have a small weekly paper with a circulation of about 5,000 copies and most of the stories are community based. I didn't have a lot of outside information to keep me awake at night but now I get the NYT online and receive email alerts from the Gazette, my world has gotten so much bigger. I have a lot more to think about now in the world of news and how it is reported. Thank you, B. L. Dotson-Lewis
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