Tuesday, September 11, 2007
I (Heart) West Warwick
It makes me chuckle when I hear things like this from my sources:"I'm only giving this to you, Talia. Not to that other paper. That other reporter just makes me nervous. He's so jittery."
One of the officers I use as a source at my local police department said that to me yesterday. I could barely stand I was laughing so hard.
It's funny.
I've been covering West Warwick for .... 13 months now, and people know me. Not just as the major metro daily reporter, but they know me. Talia. They smile when they see me. I lean back in my chair when they call and we chat. They say hilarious things about life, politics and that other paper to me.
And I love it.
Don't get me wrong: sometimes the daily life of being a bureau reporter weighs on me. But many days, when I'm out conducting interviews, shooting the breeze with cops and just being in my town, I love it. I should do it more often. And it makes me feel really good that people trust me with their stories. I never get anyone who says they won't talk to me because I constantly misquote them. And they feel comfortable enough with me to tell me when I've got something wrong or when they disagree. And they know that I'm professional enough to run a correction if necessary, but that I'll hold my ground if they're trying to blow smoke up my butt.
I have a relationship with the Town of West Warwick. And the more that I think about it, it's not such a bad one either.
Labels: heart, journalism, lessons, milestones
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beautiful post! It's easy to forget journalism is a service industry. Thanks for the reminder