When the World is Whack, Call Out Injustice
Meet the hell-raising Mother Jones fellows who keep us accurate and fresh.
Every six months, Mother Jones welcomes a new class of up-and-coming journalists to learn the craft of investigative reporting through a rigorous fact-checking program. It’s not easy for fellows to balance helping Mother Jones staffers fact check articles while developing their own news stories, but our new class is up to the challenge. Meet one of our Ben Bagdikian editorial fellows, Laura Smith:
“When the world is whack, it’s important that reporters expose the forces that make it so.”
Name: Laura Smith
Hometown: Washington, DC
Education: I received a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia for undergraduate, and my M.A. in journalism from the New York University Journalism School.
How did you get into journalism? I started blogging for a website based in Baltimore just after college. But I’ve been hooked since high school, when I got to interview prisoners for a journalism project. One weekend, my dad drove me to a jail in Loudon County, Maryland, where I interviewed a prisoner who was serving an eight-year sentence for armed robbery. He was a nice guy, and he was in a particularly good mood because he was getting out in a few weeks. He wanted to open a burger restaurant when he got out. I remember sitting across from him, feeling enthralled by the idea that it could be my job to learn about other people’s lives.
Why is being a journalist important? A couple years ago, I did an ethics fellowship that included lawyers and businesspeople as well as journalists. I left the fellowship feeling grateful that my primary professional duty is not to a client or to someone’s bottom line, but is simply to tell the truth. The world is whack, and it’s important that reporters expose the forces that make it so.
What got you reading Mother Jones? I’m not sure exactly when or why I started reading it, but one of the early articles I remember was by Andrew Marantz about his summer spent working at an Indian call center.
What’s one thing you’re excited about doing at Mother Jones? I can’t wait to report more on animal agriculture—the animals, the workers, the environmental impact, all of it.
What are you excited to do now that you live in the Bay Area? The ride-sharing service for commuters that runs from the East Bay into San Francisco. I know that’s lame, but I’m pumped to get in a car with strangers and cut down my commute time. Also, I want to hike—everywhere.
What’s a podcast you recommend? I’m not exactly on the cutting edge of podcasts, but I really love the Longform podcast. I think listening to it makes me a better journalist.
What’s one song you can’t get out of your head? Nicholas Jaar’s “Colomb”
One TV show we must watch now? The new season of Planet Earth.
An article that inspired you? I’m haunted by David Grann’s “Trial by Fire,” published in The New Yorker, about the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham based off (flawed) expert witness testimony.
Each week, we’ll bring you a new profile of our fellows. Check our Medium page for more. ∎
