One hoped-for byproduct of the search for truth is consensus. Judged by the impact of the last two weeks of open House impeachment hearings, the nation is no closer to that consensus.
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Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we鈥檝e always been transparent about that.
The church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we鈥檝e aimed 鈥渢o injure no man, but to bless all mankind,鈥� as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.
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Monitor Daily Podcast
November 22, 2019
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Laurent Belsie
Senior Economics Writer
Today鈥檚 stories explore the portent of the dramatic impeachment hearings, the underlying tensions fueling a doctors鈥� strike in Zimbabwe, the decision to leave valuable assets buried underground in the Netherlands, an effort to help foster children feel at home, and the power of scripture as an art form.
But first, a look at journalism history 鈥� my own. I鈥檒l never forget the day my city editor pulled me aside with a piece of advice. It was 1979 in Michigan 鈥� my first college internship at a newspaper, the Jackson Citizen Patriot. 鈥淟ocal journalism is where you can make a difference,鈥� he said. Two years later, I chucked his advice and joined the Monitor.
While reporting in Michigan this fall, I returned to Jackson to see what had happened in 40 years. I was saddened to find the Citizen Patriot building boarded up. Now owned by MLive Media Group, the Cit Pat is smaller, like Jackson itself, and more digital than print. The publication鈥檚 website lists four reporters.
What has that meant for local news? 鈥淚t鈥檚 more democratic,鈥� says John Burtka, a local restaurateur. In newspapers鈥� heyday, restaurants worked hard to influence the local food critic. Now, they rely on customers鈥� online reviews.聽
Today鈥檚 MLive reporters are more prolific and efficient than we were. But 鈥渢hose stories are more surface-level,鈥� says Mayor Derek Dobies.聽
Of course, the story I remember most vividly wasn鈥檛 particularly deep, either: A state trooper鈥檚 police dog had won an award. I quickly learned how intimate journalism could be 鈥� the trooper was so excited during my interview and revealed so much about himself that I felt this heavy responsibility to tell his story with fairness and cleareyed compassion.
So maybe my old city editor was onto something: We can have a big impact by going local, not in a geographical sense necessarily, but by making connections, one-on-one, exposing humanity as well as news, no matter where we are or what form 鈥� digital or print 鈥� our stories take.