Letters Live On

Matt La Plante scores again in today's Salt Lake Tribune. The very dependable national/political/war reporter writes a front-page article on letters from servicemen who were killed in Iraq in honor of Memorial Day. It's the type of story that brings honor to its subjects, is uniquely personal and can be politically influential. These are some of the charactersitics of writing that first pulled me towards my degree in journalism.

This type of story is also very challenging to research and report. These families willingly shared their stories, letters and emails from someone they recently laid to rest. Maybe they saw the honor in telling their story. Maybe it was painful but ultimately rewarding. Or maybe it was agonizing to crack open the past again like a Pandora's Box. This rationale pushed me away from journalism. How do you straddle the fine line between those who want their story told, and those who don't - if a reporter, editor or publisher deems a story "newsworthy"?

"Please explain to the boys that I tried to be a good father and that I will always love them and I will always be proud of them," Gregson Gourley wrote in 2003. (His wife gave birth to a baby girl shortly before his second deployment.) "Please never let them forget who their dad is."

Elsewhere in the Tribune, the editorial board used the same Abraham Lincoln quote (from his Second Inaugural Address) that I based my college application upon. I can't find it on their website, but it's reads like this:

"With malice towards none, with charity for all, with justice in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in."

Those words helped get me into Northwestern... and have been a guide for me throughout my personal and professional life. Unfortunately I was unable to finish the work I started here 2 1/2 years ago. Oh well, I move on.

Speaking of Northwestern, congrats to the Northwestern Wildcast Women's Lacrosse team... they won their third straight NCAA title this weekend. Dynasty and Northwestern are usually only paired in debate and journalism references - nice to have a sports dynasty in place!

'Cats Three-Peat!!! has all the details.

Plus, the softball team is making its second consecutive appearance in the College World Series in Oklahoma City - follow all the action on ESPN and ESPN2 apparently, beginning Thursday. Go Cats!

Comments

[JM]

Thanks for the great blog entry. I will try to read that article today if I get a chance.

RSL fans still miss you.