A conversation with Ann Curry: objective journalism in a changing media landscape
The world around us may be changing fast, but traditional journalistic values remain important.
As a young girl, I remember watching Ann Curry report on NBC from various parts of the world. She was poised, intelligent, and fearless. Throughout her remarkable career of more than three decades, that still holds true.
Earlier this month, I and 12 other University of Oregon journalism majors were lucky enough to meet Curry.
In a wide-ranging discussion over two hours, we discussed the future of journalism, the fundamentals of reporting, and how to keep our passion alive throughout our careers.
Here are my main takeaways from our conversation with a journalist who has inspired many to fight for truth.
1. Paying your dues: How to make it as an entry-level reporter.
Many of the students on this trip will apply for jobs by the end of June 2017. During a time of monumental change within the industry, and a vocal distrust of many media outlets from certain quarters, Curry argued that this is a moment of tremendous opportunity.
Curry stressed that reporting is for the service of others, and we should be in the business to fight for truth, not for personal gain.
She recommended that young reporters should take every opportunity, and become indispensable to employers.
She emphasized the importance of guarding our credibility, and to “protect it fiercely.”
The difficulty of reporting is living with mistakes, Curry said. The information we share “can help people, save people, or kill people.” Therefore, we must use it wisely do our our jobs judiciously. Reporting is something we do with intent, so mistakes should not be taken lightly.
2. “This is a job that requires ethics” : Objectivity and how to be fair.
Ann Curry has interviewed many high-profile people throughout her career, including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who in 2010 was charged by the international criminal court of three counts of genocide in Darfur.
At a time when some reporters are unsure how to handle activism and journalism, we talked about the importance of staying balanced on stories they feel passionate about.
Curry said that news judgment takes a long time to build, and being fair does not always mean being nice.
However, in the end, everyone deserves to be treated with humanity.
3. “Without empathy, I would not be a good reporter” : What it means to be a journalist.
Throughout our conversation, I noticed that Curry would always return to the basic character traits of great reporters.
We talked about tenacity, idealism, and personal goals.
She told us to always question motive, even within ourself. In sharing this advice, Curry recounted advice that she’d received from a news director when she was first starting out as a reporter, “Never trust anyone, not even yourself,” he said.
Photo by Antoine Sanfuentes, NBC News
Building on this, Curry argued passionately, that journalism is not industry that you enter for fame, but to help people.
She told us to respect fundamental human dignity of the people we report on, especially in times of crisis.
If you are disconnected from how a person is feeling, she said, it will show in your story.
When someone is interviewed, they expect to be respected.
Most importantly, Curry told us, in the end we should be proud of the work we did and how we did it. As reporters, we will need to fight for impactful stories, and carry these fundamental ideas with us; a constant in a world where the media landscape continues to change and evolve.
