OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVES

My mom called me last Thursday, to give me the gossip of what was going on back home.

The conversation led to her telling me she finally watched the HBO special, “I'm Not A Monster: The Lois Riess Murders.” It tells the notorious story of a Blooming Prairie woman convicted of murdering her husband in BP and a woman she met while on the run in Florida.

Mom isn’t from here (shocker) and has spent very little time in this state, but she found the whole documentary and story interesting.

Then she asked me something she never asked me before: “Are you afraid to be a journalist in the cancel culture society.”

Keep in mind, I have been a journalist for a decade. My start in journalism wasn’t covering meetings –it started with going to rallies with thousands of people covering the Donald Trump campaign in New Hampshire and going to places like small churches in small New Hampshire towns covering….well, lesser-known candidates from both sides of the aisle.

Weeks after my 21st birthday, I found myself covering the Republican and Democratic National conventions and the many protests that went along with it. Quite frankly, at times, it was not safe.

In 2017, when Trump raised his right hand and was sworn into office the first time, I was not very far from him, covering it.

I was still in college; the coverage was part of our partnership with the Boston Herald.

It was such a vulnerable time safety-wise in our nation’s capital, and our college wasn’t messing around. Along with us came the director of public safety for the college, prepared with escape plans in case things got dicey. Turns out, they were actually necessary.

After college, I’ve covered a lot of different things, including murders.

Still, my mother never questioned whether I felt unsafe as a journalist until last week.

Let that sink in. Who would want to be a journalist nowadays, you may ask?

Very few people will ever get rich doing journalism, the hours aren’t great, and cancel culture is a cancer on our society.

But yet, less than an hour after this phone call, I joined a Zoom meeting for the first Citizen Journalism Academy class of the year.

The program offered through the Minnesota Newspaper Association, Minnesota News Media Institute (MNA’s nonprofit) and Bethel University, is designed to teach up-and-coming journalists the ropes, and also help empower people who may not have had a traditional journalism experience to become journalists. Our very own, Kay Fate, is one of the instructors focusing on newspaper ethics.

What stuck out to me was how many people participating already have jobs.

I can only speculate, but my guess is, people across this state and country know the First Amendment and the free press are under attack.

It would be easier for many of us to go do something else or not even get into the profession at all. There are plenty of other jobs that pay more money, take less of a mental toll, and don’t lead parents to worry about their children.

But it was so refreshing to see how many people are willing to step up and help their communities.

For those who want to help your community by covering a city council meeting, school meeting, or doing a feature story, please reach out to me at amalm@steelecountytimes.com, and we will get you up and running.

And who knows–maybe next year, you may find yourself in a citizen journalism academy course.