OPINION: Little guy with a big news story
There's a real person behind the keyboard
There is an old anecdote about a Mormon bishop who skips church one Sunday to play golf. He hits a hole in one. And can’t tell anyone. There are also the old adages that ‘you can’t give what you don’t have,’ and ‘to keep it you have to give it away.’
Flying solo as a newsman is kind of like that. You hear and see things that you can’t (or at least shouldn’t) talk about before the “things” are fact-checked and corroborated by sources. You get ideas or go down rabbit holes that sometimes bust open huge cover-ups, or sometimes eat a lot of your time before you’re sure they are a waste of time.
Anyone with a keyboard, Internet connection and an opinion can publish and call it “news.” Doesn’t make it news. I am old-school “Walter Cronkite” kind of news. I don’t want to tell you what to think. I want to give you information so you can think for yourself. Flying solo can be as bad as being your own attorney, if you are not diligent.
I miss working in a newsroom. In a newsroom, your peers and editors absorb and refine your enthusiasm and excitement. Solo? It’s much harder, because all you have are your closest friends and family, who mean well but don’t have the necessary professional filters.
But, I can’t work in a newsroom anymore. I am disabled, and can’t sustain the required pace and energy. Having my own news service allows me to work when I can. But in addition to the reporting and writing, I also am my own editor, fact-checker, photographer, marketer, Web master, social media manager, and publisher.
I’m a little guy, with a little news service, with a handful of readers. And a big story.
Something interesting happened while I was writing Gamboa case sparks "gun rights" talk.
My research revealed some existing Utah laws that might — MIGHT — affect how average citizens can show up at political events with weapons.
It might put some people at ease who right now wonder if it’s safe to even attend these events. It might make some others pucker if it turns out they can’t legally behave the way they’ve been behaving. It might deter Utah lawmakers from making knee-jerk laws, in favor of simply enforcing or updating the existing laws.
There are more questions than answers at this point. I have calls in to relevant authorities, and I will report more as the responses come in.
One agency representative I talked to on Thursday said I am definitely on to something important that no one else has discussed yet. She is consulting the agency attorneys before giving me official comment.
No, I can’t go into more detail. Not until I hear back from that agency and hopefully others. The bones of my theory are in the linked article.
I can tell you this much: the importance of what I found depends on how the government interprets the existing laws. If they find these laws do not apply to individuals, they might either do nothing or they might decide to amend the laws so that individuals are covered.
But, so far, other journalists are focusing on one facet of the issue — whether the No Kings Day organizers are liable for the shooting because they did not include any kind of security in their permit request.
That is a valid angle. But it is not the only angle, nor is it the only angle that might turn the tables on the man who shot Arthur Gamboa and killed Aha Ah Loo.
I don’t care that I scooped the rest of Utah news media on the angle I found, although scooping is the eight-ball break of journalism.
I care about properly informing the public about the public’s business. This is too important to the public for me to sit on it myself.
I don’t care that it is industry taboo to share information with other media outlets. So, on Thursday, I reached out to the journalist who broke the story about the organizer’s contract. I had hoped I could hand off this story to her because my financial and health resources are limited.
I won’t assume why, but she has not returned my call.
Folks, the face of journalism has changed. It must if the media ever expects to rebuild trust.
I’ve been out of the game for so long, it’s hard to discern how to balance old-school objectivity and detachment with new-school authenticity, vulnerability and transparency. I think you want to know the real person behind the keyboard. We’ve ALL had enough of talking heads.
I am bursting while waiting for more information to come in. I wish any of you would comment, message, or email me with your own thoughts and questions about this. After all, I wouldn’t even do this work if it were not to be of service to you.
And if you are a professional journalist? Come talk to me. You can get this information out to the public faster than I can. Let’s DO this.
Thanks for being my “newsroom” today.
© All rights reserved The Hardy Report LLC. Direct licensing inquiries to The Hardy Report.