My Journalistic Autobiography

My life as a journalist began with reading the funny pages on the living room floor and Time magazines from the World War II-era in my father’s basement study. Even as a kid, the funny pages gave a “don’t be so serious” lift to my day while the Time magazines informed my world with serious tales of global importance — and tragedy.

I remember the day, as a nine-year-old child reading the front page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, that I saw a photograph of a high-heel shoe on top of a restaurant dining table, a picture from the Algerian War. The photo caught my imagination – how could war happen in a restaurant?

Then along came the Vietnam War and journalism via daily televised broadcasts brought the war into our living room, like those of thousands of Americans. With the release of and subsequent lawsuit over the publication of the Pentagon Papers, it was obvious that even in America, freedom of the press needed to be defended.

The war was still raging when the scandal of Watergate broke, courtesy of the persistence and integrity of the press, and the excitement of justice finally prevailing may have been the high point of my youth.

When John Mitchell said, “Katie Graham better watch out or she’ll get her tit caught in the wringer,” I realized the courage required to take on authority. I didn’t know at the time of Katherine Graham’s history, but as I learned it, she became a role model for speaking truth to power, no matter how intimidating the task.

As a young mother in Alaska, I wrote for the local daily newspaper, The Kodiak Daily Mirror, with a sense of belonging and curiosity that had evaded me until then. Then, in an overnight change of ownership, I was editor and sole reporter for the paper, and I relished the opportunity to speak to and for my town.

Determined to work in journalism at whatever opportunity I had, I sold advertising and wrote for a restaurant-industry newspaper, which acquainted me with the symbiosis of journalism and advertising. To supplement my income, (and refine my word-smithing) I also became a paralegal, which fine-tuned my radar to the legal aspects of newspaper reporting and publishing.

I was a freelance journalist for several publications and then was employed by the Everett Herald, writing on a laptop from home, which was my introduction to the technical direction of journalism that has become dominant in newsrooms.

The technological aspect of my journalistic — and other — careers have kept me current with the opportunities and challenges of online journalism that have already replaced many reputable print operations. For even as I continued to write for The New Times and Yes! Magazine, I was also learning new communication technologies in my positions with a medical laboratory and a real estate firm.

Throughout this training, and in the design of several websites, I have found the assistance of friendly, customer-oriented “help” desks invaluable to maintaining a productive web presence. Cooperation with technical support, which includes simple troubleshoooting, problem reporting, desktop fixes and work-arounds, requires patience and clarity in using a common nomenclature to determine the problem and find a solution. It may seem odd that customer service has become so critical in the practice of online journalism, but it is so.

I’ve encountered complaints about transcribing the distorted letters that often serve as a passkey from laymen, and I’ve experienced web masters and licensed programmers struggle with the restrictions built into different service providers.

Journalism must take on the challenge of developing a common language for interactivity with the web, be it in reporting and publishing, or in reading and responding to the news. Cooperation between experts in two very different fields – journalism and technology – is critical to moving forward.

In 2006, when I became the editor of the Islands Sounder, I was soon responsible for its website maintenance within the larger organization, Sound Publishing. This website was dramatically changed as of May, 2008 and has had a very steep learning curve for both access and reliability, with many roadblocks created by the lack of cooperative communication between journalists and technologists.

I have seen first-hand how important it is to be able to “speak the same language” in moving journalism to internet production, and I have also seen the value of outside-the-organization contributors, or grassroots journalists.

As blogs of independent “journalists” rise on the internet, I both appreciate the common-man perspective and outright truth-telling, while I have misgivings about that perspective and how accurate the truth-telling really is.

In my career as a journalist, I’m proud that I’ve given light and voice to projects and people that have a lasting affect on both the ordinary and the powerful. I’m proud that in doing so, I’ve empowered others to exert their authority and I’ve challenged those who use their authority casually or disrespectfully.

Intellectual and social values that shape my journalism

Democratic – the voice of the layman, the less-powerful members of society and of those who challenge the status quo for, as well as for those in authority.

Curiosity – the respectful inquiry and persistent integrity that are essential to information and explanation.

Respect – the cultivated ability to see an issue through other’s perspective before accepting or rejecting their stance.

Accountability – the obligation to build trust with sources and the public.

Love of the precise word – with an awareness of popular so that multi-syllabic and arcane vocabulary are never substituted for clarity.

Future contributions

The prospect of maintaining the sound practices of traditional journalism while incorporating the participation of citizen readers and contributors presents the next challenge in my lifework as a journalist.

What I’d like to accomplish before I’m through is the promotion of journalistic ethics as we use new media, bringing universality, clarity and responsibility to this new
realm.