Why, What, Where, When, Why & How

[skul_Donteecha]

When I first decided that journalism was my field, specifically broadcast journalism, I was taught the basic questions to be answered by a reporter were.....who, what, where, when, why and how. Once you've got those facts nailed down, you go on to other stuff related to the story.

I mention this because reporters, and I don't mean fashion or show biz reporters, see to be after the trivia and bs instead of going after the meat of a story. Look what we have had to slosh thru...
Hillary Clinton's cleavage, John Edwards haircut and now Fred Thompson's shoes. What in God's name does any of that have to do with picking a new President? I don't care if Barak Obama knows what a ball hitch is or what food Dennis Kucinich likes best. I want to know about their thoughts in vital issues and a haircut is not critical in the least. But reporters hang on that like the fictional reporter who, in a movie, yell's "Stop The Presses, I have a story that will blow this town wide open ! " A haircut?

I have a serious feeling that reporters today deal with BS like that because they are too lazy to dig for facts and they are fearful of asking tough questions and demanding answers because some candidate may get made at them. Or maybe they simply don't understand presidential politics and maybe should change over to sports reporting.

The idea of being a reporter is to find and report on those things that mean the most to the people of this country. And if a corporate suit hires a guy to do that....by God, let him do it or fire him and get someone who will. And in addition that corporate biggie should run his company in a manner that there will not be anything to hide. But I understand that goal is mostly impossible.

So I issue this challenge to reporters........do what you are supposed to do.......find out the facts, report on them and forget about fashion, hairdos and footwear. Any reporter who can ignore potential governmental crises because someone might get upset does not merit the title of Journalist.

[Bitwit1234]

1. When I was in seventh grade

we had a teacher in English and she taught us this adage...

I have six honest serving men, they taught me all I knew knew
There names were what, and where and when and how and why and who....

She said to always remember those six words when we were researching anything about English.

And fifty years later I still haven't.