If you haven't yet read every last word posted on collegiatetimes.com, the Web site of the Virginia Tech newspaper, since the shooting on Monday, I have something to tell you that I don't think I've ever told anyone before: Stop paying attention to me and go check it out. If you're not absolutely humbled by what these kids did while their world was unraveling around them, you're a stronger man than I am.
And yes, I said kids. As you're reading through the site, remember that this is not Wolf Blitzer speaking. It's people substantially younger than me; some substantially younger than my little sister. They are writing the story of the damned decade as it is happening with only rudimentary training. Any newspaper editor worth his salt wouldn't let these guys pour his morning coffee, and yet here they are risking life and limb in a red-hot breaking news situation to find out exactly what the hell is going on and why the powers that be aren't talking. Time was, college kids weren't the only journalists who did that sort of thing. Look at the times the articles were posted. The CT staff was on this story minute-to-minute. I was sitting in front of The Wire as a lot of this was coming out, and I'm pretty confident that the CT kicked The Associated Press' ass on this. For those of you not up on the reporting gossip, let me fill you in: One night in 1932, Mahatma Gandhi was released from an Indian prison just after midnight so his captors could avoid media attention. Ghandi was taken to a remote railroad station where darkness obscured his identity and cut loose.From the shadows emerged Jim Mills, an Associated Press reporter. This led Ghandi (whom I didn't know was funny) to quip, "I suppose when I go to the Hereafter and stand at the Golden Gate, the first person I shall meet will be a correspondent of The Associated Press." The AP does not get scooped. Ever.
Until now. Imagine yourself at, say, 19, breaking out the old laptop to post the following Web update about your own school: "At this time, University Relations is reporting one individual in custody and is searching for a second shooter. The Collegiate Times will publish information as it is made available...Due to serious wind, helicopters cannot be used to transfer the injured. According to the police scanner, ambulances are being used to transport the victims to Montgomery Regional Hospital."
Let me tell you something you might not know about the police scanner: There are few experiences as unsettling as hearing a police officer break down on the air because he cannot deal with what he is seeing at the scene of an emergency — and I guarantee at least one cop lost it during the VT shootings. How could you not crack? I've seen it happen in person and heard it over the scanner, and it was much uglier over the radio. All the static and clipped transmissions make the hair on the back of your neck stand up because you can't tell if the officer is crying or being attacked or what. Now imagine listening to that while you know there's a killer on the loose within a mile of you. And, oh yeah, your boyfriend's missing and not picking up his cell phone. Got that feeling? Good, now write a balanced news story within an hour. I just can't say enough about the bravery and composure of the CT staff.
And they're still plugging away. By Tuesday they had posted exhaustive reports ranging from victim interviews to security videos to a piece on President Bush's speech. No lie, I'm checking their site instead of CNN.com for my updates now. I think it's wholly appropriate for Columbia or another entity to recognize these guys for reporting from inside a disaster, just as the New York Times reporters were recognized for their work on 9/11. Oh, and if this doesn't count as workplace experience, the university needs to lose its accreditation.
Because here's how I see it: Real journalism isn't about having a marketable message. It's not about selling ads or going to city council meetings or identifying unique voices in the community. It's not even about having a pithy comeback for what the Republicans said this week in a press conference. In real life, it goes a little something like this: "Man, we don't know what's going on over there, but it's not good. The cops are on the way and, here, you can borrow my camera. We're live in half an hour. Go."
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