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I love journalism but I hate asking uncomfortable questions

Many of you may have received the e-mail sent by Wendall Cochran about this article I love journalism but I hate asking uncomfortable questions

Talk about being honest. I thought it was very forthcoming and truthful. It was refreshing to read about somebody who is embarking on journalism as a new career but to realize that everyone has their own fears and insecurities-whether they are a veteran in the field or just starting out.

The article talks about his deep fear of-people. Or as he puts it “Of talking to them, of asking them nosy questions about their lives. He also said left to his own devices “I’d stay in my room, do nothing and never go out.

I would definitely have to agree that interviewing people and approaching them can be a difficult process-especially if you are shy. Is it possible to be a journalist and be extremely shy I wonder? Cary Tennis who wrote this article states it best “Journalism is irresistible. It is a way to participate in the world that is uniquely fascinating, lively, heroic, intense.” He also writes that he had difficulties and self-doubt through out his career and says to enter into a field or topic that you will enjoy.
“One of the first things that comes to mind, if you do want to write, is to try and find a field that does not involve the partisan antagonism of politics, the private tragedies of crime or the hotly tribal warfare of culture and religion,” Tennis said.

So bottom line-enjoy what you do, try and conquer you fears-however difficult and pain-staking a process this may be, and know that everyone in some way shape or form has their own insecurities and doubts no matter how good a journalist they are. Did anybody ever see "BARBARA WALTERS SPECIAL: 30 MISTAKES IN 30 YEARS" Part 2 that aired on Friday, November 17 at 10:00 p.m.????? Walters shared her interviews with world leaders, athletes, musicians and Hollywood icons, chronicling her mistakes and their mistakes. So if Barbara can make a few mistakes here and there, I think it’s safe to say I may make a few along the way, and hey that’s o.k.

---Vanessa C.

posted by Mark H. @ 12/16/2006 09:25:00 AM