Journalism is definitely not a profession one enters to become popular.
And there are many rules and unwritten rules that a reporter who’s worth his or her salt follows with remaining arms-length, fair and objective being near the top.
While covering the murder of a local Indigenous man for the Toronto Star, I saw a reporter hug the victim’s brother at a shrine erected in the murder victim's memory.
For me, this was a definite no-no since while she was showing compassion, she crossed the line from observer to something else with the physical contact.
We, also, as journalists develop a very thick skin, which easily comes from being yelled at, called anonymously at home and threatened and on one occasion for me, anyways, stalked.
Recently, I was on the other end of many angry emails, Facebook comments and phone calls over something we had published.
I explained that those who were upset could write a ‘letter to the editor.’ No one took me up on the offer.
But a reader took it a step further by trying to engage me in an argument about the merits of the column in question while seemingly questioning my integrity.
First off, there is a very real difference between an article and a column. A column is often a subjective piece written from the writer’s perspective and doesn’t necessarily represent the opinion of the editor or the publication where it appears.
Our job as a daily news publication is to offer various views from the opinion side (ie. reader columns and my columns) along with objective journalism.
As a daily offering, we are not cheerleaders, but rather tell the stories of the municipalities and residents we serve. That is what journalism is and should be. My job is to be objective and fair.
But that doesn't mean we don't support the communities where we cover events. We enjoy interviewing and writing positive stories and celebrating an individual or group's accomplishments.
We often live locally and support a number of small businesses along with the tourism industry regularly.
However, when I’m working, I’m not a cheerleader and never have been. But I am empathetic and a good listener, two key tools of the job.
I’ve never hugged a source and never asked for an autograph with one exception. While covering Guy Lafleur’s last game in Quebec City, I asked my boyhood idol if he would sign my press pass. I still have it tucked away somewhere.
We don’t go anywhere expecting to be popular. We are sometimes viewed at a level just above gum on your shoe, but below pretty much everything else.
But we do serve an important role in keeping people ‘honest’ and covering events the public would not want to attend, not just slow and tedious meetings, but also horrific acts of violence.
We also see things that can cause nightmares and lead to major depression.
When I worked at one big-city tabloid, I covered two murders, a few attempted murders, two fatal fires, many fatal car accidents, two children dying in tragic circumstances, at least six funerals (not just famous people) and many other unmentionable events, including being assigned to find victims of crimes to ask them 'how they feel?'
And this was in about a four-month span.
And no, we don’t do it for the glory, the high levels of stress and definitely not for the money.
We do it because we love chasing leads, interviewing people, covering events and crafting stories. There's also that racing heartbeat feeling one gets as adrenaline kicks in when you’re writing to deadline or scoop the competition.
As one saying about journalism aptly describes the profession: “It's a tough job with insane pressure and pretty crappy pay. On the other hand, everybody hates you.”
