Leave it to journalists (or maybe the marketing department) to give journalism a bad name. Speakers we've heard over the first two days of the Reynolds Institute have inspired us to inspire our students to be the best journalists they can be. Yet examples in the popular media often give students the worst examples possible all wrapped up in the First Amendment. In Kansas City (and in most other cities I've visited) at least one television station entices viewers to tune-in because their stories are "live, late-breaking, and investigative." Sigh. What their stories often turn out to be are "packaged, sensational, and biased."
Ken Paulson proved to us that even as educated adults that there is a lot about our country that we don't know; and a lot that we thought we knew is actually rumor, gossip or outright lies. Our forefathers put five important freedoms together in the First Amendment because of their importance to our democracy. Until our democracy embraces those freedoms with the same vigor that many have embraced the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, our society will never reach its potential.
How are young journalists supposed to learn unbiased, balanced reporting when the truth varies depending on which channel you watch or which magazines you read? When I first began teaching journalism I thought it was important to start with the First Amendment. I was amazed at the fact that I didn't have one student in 55 that could name more than one of the freedoms guaranteed important by the founding fathers. I worked hard on my Power Points and activities and even had a panel of guest speakers come in to talk about the importance of the First Amendment in how they did their jobs.
I had no idea that one of my students would provide the most important example of how significant the amendment could be to people's everyday lives. I brought both of my beginning journalism classes together (I don't have 55 in one class!) for my guest panel. One of my students happened to be a foreign exchange student from Pakistan. She was a always a quiet student but sat in the front row (even when I changed the seating chart she still just stayed put). About half way through the panel discussion I noticed that Shazia was crying. I bent down and slowly went over to see if she was OK. She said she was but held my hand and asked me if I would sit by her. I grabbed a box of Kleenex and sat with her (having no idea why she was so upset). The panel continued for another 30 minutes and I finally let go of Shazia's hand to applaud the group and get up to help the adults get packed up and back to the office to leave. The other kids were talking and gathering their backpacks with 10 or so following up with the panel members. I turned around and saw Shazia sitting there with a huge grin and her hand raised. I called on her and she asked if she could say something to the panel. The other kids quickly sat down as did the panel. I welcomed Shazia's comment. She rose, came to the front of the class and began to speak. This time I was the one that was holding back tears. For the next few minutes Shazia explained to the class how wonderful our democracy was and how much American's take their freedoms for granted. She told stories of censorship, discrimination, corruption and control in her native Pakistan. She explained how a free press would be such a unique opportunity to free her country from all that was bad. The bell rang...no one moved...Shazia finished...my students, myself and the panel then applauded this teenage girl from Pakistan who understood and appreciated what we all took for granted.
The people of Pakistan are spared the news programming that is "live, late-breaking and investigative" yet are denied the freedom to think for themselves or discern what is right for them. My pledge is to work diligently so that none of my students leave my class without the lessons learned from Ken Paulson or Shazia.
Debbie Glenn
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