The Lesson Today

As SPJ-UH vice-president I hope this is the first of many posts that we will be able to read and stay connected. I hope we'll be able to learn from each other and keep on being pro-active as the club grows.

As the first post I was going to write about my journey of finding an internship. But an experience today inspired me to write about something else.

I received an e-mail from an administrative officer saying a story I wrote recently printed in the KaLeo was the worst he had ever read about an institution he works at. The reason for it was,b it was filled with inaccuracies and the views expressed were of those with "...a distorted perception of what we are doing." At first, I felt really bad. I mean, he's an administrator and I'm JUST a student feeling my way around the world of journalism. My first reaction was to throw away my pen and take up something that didn't anger people like massage therapy (nothing against it, my mom is a C.M.T).

But then after talking to a few people I realized I should take his e-mail attacking me as a compliment. Hey! He read my story! He claimed it was inaccurate information but I got it from certified documents and there were none publicly available to update the information that was written. Here's the funny part. I contacted him a week before my deadline to get his point of view and clarification on the information I had because he was the source with the most knowledge of my story.

Whether he didn't take me seriously or what not. I didn't get a reply on time for my deadline. I then asked for an extension and called his office twice and still no reply. It was not until after my story was sent in did I receive an e-mail with his reply that night. The office said they had sent it but for whatever reason my e-mail address never received it. (Though it had picked up every other e-mail that was sent to me by him).

So, as a journalist was I in the wrong? The information I wrote was not accurate but my source who would have the knowledge to correct me did not bother to contact me until way after my deadline and there was not updated, certified documenation.

The point of my post is that there will be people who get mad at what you write. Even to the point of attacking your credibility and ethics and they will throw all their accolades and achievements in your face to prove their worth. I guess I'll take his attack on my journalistic worth as a compliment. Because even though it got him mad I presented another view to look at things and the only inaccuracy were the numbers presented which can be easily corrected. It still doesn't take away the viewpoints expressed in my story by living, breathing people who have every right to have their opinions reported.

Thanks guys! Who's next to post?

Welcome!

My name is Matt and I am the president of the Society of Professional Journalists University of Hawaii Chapter and I welcome everyone to our club's first blog. Here we will write about our experiences as journalism students and discuss issues concerning the media at UH, in Hawaii and across the nation. Contributers will be the current members of the club that range from new journalism students to editors of the university's paper, Ka Leo O Hawaii.