In this speaker event, various journalists, such as Marilyn Serafini and Craig Harris discussed political reporting. A large part of the evening was spent discussing the healthcare act and the difficulty in reporting on an issue such as that due to its complicated language, difficulty in obtaining reliable sources, and political ressearch. It was informing to see how a reporter with experience like Serafini viewed political reporting.
Serafini discussed the amount of complicated rhetoric that is thrown around in news stories in political reporting I was glad to hear that complicated rhetoric was an issue that both Serafini and Harris brought up during the panel discussion. As a citizen, it is hard to decipher the language used in bills and legislation, which is why it is important to have political writers dissect complicated issues and bills for those who are not familiar with the political jargon.
Obtaining sources can be one of the most daunting tasks for political reporters. Serafini talked about how she often uses a source once or twice and then does not hears back from them until months later. I thought this to was surprising because I assumed that once a political reporter finds a source, they often go back to him or her when necessary. Because of this, it made sense to me as to why Serafini and Harris both believe it is important to respect the requests and statements of their sources because it could tarnish their reputation, which would then make it harder to obtain sources for their stories. Harris discussed the impact of the overreliance of technology in political reporting, particularly in interviewing sources. It was interesting to hear how technology can actually hinder the effectiveness and accuracy of political reporting. Today, technology plays a huge role in one’s day to day activities, so it was surprising to hear someone who has won various awards in political reporting advising our generation to take a step back from technology in order to get sources for political news stories.
Serafini also urged students to think outside the box and not to report on topics that journalists are supposed to be covering but rather on issues that journalists should be writing about. When she reported on the healthcare bill, she stayed away from solely political issues and focused on stories that would eventually get to the broader issue. Serafini’s view on how to report on a story is effective because of how complicated political issues can be. It is necessary to take a different route in order for an uninformed citizen to want to read a political story and learn about a political issue. Serafini also discussed the importance of research. However, Serafini talked about the difficulty of research in political reporting because of how time consuming it is for the reporter.
Politics are daunting to the average American citizen, which is why political reporting becomes so important. It was eye opening to see how even experienced political reporters found new difficulties in reporting on issues such as the healthcare bill. It made me realize how complicated political reporting is.
