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“The opposite of poverty is not wealth. In too many places, the opposite of poverty is justice.” ― Bryan Stevenson

I WOKE UP LIKE THIS

10/10/2017

1 Comment

 
Good morning world, 
Welcome to Humans Tell Stories, a site where you will find real stories told by real people. The goal is to create a space for stories many mainstream journalists cannot tell.  At my last TV station, I was told by an EP, "Your passion for people is to a fault"...I was dumbfounded. I  believed my "passion for people" is what made me a great journalist. I took the feedback and reflected, but a week later, the news director (same station) said something similar, criticizing my "passion" for people. 

There IS a reason why I have "passion" when covering stories about people, all people because I am a person. It is easy to work on TV and forget we are working for people, the viewers, the ones that need the vital information we are giving to them. Many of us get caught up in the superficial aspects of the job, forgetting who we are, journalists. Those viewers have daily trials and want to feel heard, understood. I like relatable stories. I love stories where at the very end you felt something, compelled to change the world...you might call it solution based journalism. 

Who are you? What do you want to be? What is your purpose of making the world a better place? I would ask myself these question every day in college, and the answer was always (insert drum roll) a journalist. My mind would always try and convince me otherwise, "Why?" "You won't make any money!" "People will hate you 99.9% of the time!" "The President even criticizes your every move!". Despite my monkey brain, I would always respond with... "BUT I want to help people!". I know journalism isn't a conventional way of helping others, but to me, it is one of the best ideas, especially for communities that do not have representation in the media. 

I am not the "normal" blonde, blue-eyed, middle-class white girl that many might think I am when they look at my polished headshot. My family multi-racial and I grew up in a tiny town in California's Central Valley, surrounded by gang violence and farmland. Over 85% of the students that went to my elementary school lived below the poverty level. Unlike my friends, my family chose to live on the westside in what many called the ghetto side of town. 

My parents devoted their lives to working with addicts, children, gang members, and undocumented people. I saw first hand what it is like to live in a community held hostage by gang violence, with little police intervention or journalists to tell a story. Witnessing injustice firsthand has given me a different perspective in news/journalism/storytelling, one many newsrooms rarely understand. I choose to embrace my passion for people and create this platform to focus on social justice issues worldwide. I think my life experience prepared me to be a journalist at this very moment in time. 
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If you get the message and would like to contribute, reach out. . 
1 Comment
JoLynn DiGrazia
10/13/2017 09:58:31 pm

Holla at ANNIE DI! hey everyone we will be marching from Merced to Modesto November 11-12. Having an organizational Meeting this Wednesday at CSUStanislaus Drama building.. I believe at 5pm. Repping the NEED to speak up for our DACA and Dreamers.... see you there. They can take our place at the table... but they cannot silence out voice... ORALE

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