photo courtesy of IMBD
Johnathan Lieberman from the Cornell Daily Sun sat down with Soledad O'Brien to chat with her regarding her view of American media. The CDS also reports that Ms. O'Brien will be the featured speaker at Cornell's Convocation Ceremony.
I found Soledad's answer to the following questions intriguing (click here for the complete text):
Sun: Where do you see journalism crossing the line between respecting an individual’s right to privacy and reporting the news?
O’Brien: I think everybody knows the line because it makes you feel incredibly uncomfortable. One of the things that guides me and always has is that I make sure to talk to people that want to talk to me. You do that and you automatically have a different tone. People want to sit down and tell you their story, and that makes a big difference. Whether it’s a tragedy of mass proportions or a tragedy within a family that might involve two or three or four people, it’s still hugely important to them. No matter what, the strategy is still the same: talking to me will allow us to tell the story better. Often, nine times out of ten, people say, “yes I want to tell the story.” Certainly in Hurricane Katrina we saw this.
Sun: What message do you want to impart on the senior class before they step out into the real world?
O’Brien: Seizing opportunities and taking chances. I think of times that I haven’t taken my opportunities that have come to me and some of the opportunities I’ve had to fight for. I think students are really incredibly well prepared in this day and age to do anything they want. They have to figure out what is it they want and what is it they are willing to sacrifice to do it. Are you willing to sacrifice your family? Are you willing to sacrifice a balance in your life? What do you want to do? That’s the theme that I’m going to be talking about.
Thanks to What's Happening At CNN for the heads up!
1 comment:
No offense made and I might be wrong but was she being conceited when she said "talking to her will allow them to tell the story better". Telling one's story to a certain journalist, be it a tragedy within a family or something like Katrina requires readiness and confidence on the part of the interviewee. Although Katrina is different coz it's a matter of life and death situation.
I don't think I can agree with her tellings students are well prepared after completing college. They may know a lot of theories but nothing will prepare them for the kind of education and experiences that they may learn from the real world. Seizing opportunities that comes along your way is right but be also careful not to step on other's toes.
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