Truth and Consequences

When I was a child, I had visions of becoming a journalist.  I can recall evenings of sitting in my room, my wooden toy chest pulled out from the wall so that I could fit in behind it  I would take my parents old Polaroid camera and place it on the top of my tall dresser to serve as my television camera.   I would pull out the Weekly Reader, a news publication we received in elementary school, and my old Sesame Street magazines.   I would pick a few news stories out of the two and rewrite them in little blurbs that I would then read out to my fictious television audience.

I came up with other content for my news program by following my mother around, interviewing her on her daily tasks and activities, turning those into stories I thought for sure would increase my ratings.   And then there was my dad.  Since he was an avid reader (still is by the way), I would ask him about the books he was reading.  That segment was only once a week since my dad was a slow reader.   My parents willingly catered to my dreams and desires and it was a guarantee that I would seek out a career in journalism.   Unfortunately, for controllable and uncontrollable reasons, that never happened. 

My original desire to be a journalist came from Woodward and Bernstein, the two reporters responsible for breaking the story on Watergate.    I read about them as a child, envied the lifestyle they chose and hungered for the ability to write a story as well as they did.  Investigative journalism always held a high appeal for me, but that viewpoint has changed the older I have become.  Lately it seems like investigative journalists are much too cavalier when it comes to reporting a story especially when said story would be at the cost of a child’s innocence.  

I have watched the whole Arnold Schwarzenneger saga unfold on television recently.   I’ve found myself drawn into it being the typical American who enjoys the taste of drama especially with those in real life.   This story; however, has a left a bad taste in my mouth for journalists and has made me realize that I don’t have the ability to be an investigative journalist, as I don’t exactly have the gumption to push others to get what I want.  I watched the Today show this morning and saw the smiling face of the reporter who broke the story about Arnold’s lovechild and his infidelity.   I’m not condoning Arnold’s behavior.  I find it offensive and disgusting, but equally so I find the smug arrogance of the reporter just as distasteful.  

I know there are many reporters and journalists out there who write and blog for Skirt!  And I am well aware of that old Osmond’s song, “One Bad Apple” doesn’t spoil the whole bunch (I know the song was written for different purposes), but right now this one reporter has brought a level of devastation to the private lives of children, the innocents in this story.   She spoke to Matt Lauer today about her determination to finally prove herself right and Arnold wrong after she was unable to prove during his gubernatorial campaign that he was a womanizer.   Right now, this reporter seems to have a level of vindication, but was it really worth it.

I still enjoy journalists and investigative reporters and there is a side of me that would love that life.  I love asking questions and solving puzzles.   I like to dig and dig until I find what I’m looking for, and I love to tell a story from a factual viewpoint, but I have to admit I don’t think my own conscience could handle being the one to out Arnold especially if I knew that it would hurt his children.   Perhaps I’m being naïve with all of this and then again maybe I’m not.   At some point, humanity needs to take control and I can’t help but wonder if this one reporter has any feelings of caring about Arnold’s children, even his illegitimate one.