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Posted by Mollie
One of the great things about reporting is that you never quite know where a story is going. You interview a disgruntled employee and you’re totally convinced he’s got the goods on his evil employer. And then you do more research and realize the story is a tad more complicated — he’s trying to cover up his own incompetence or corruption. Or he’s merely trying to gain more power by throwing someone else under the bus.
Or you’ll get pitched on a story about a legislative reform that must be passed. And you’re totally convinced by the activist group coming up with the plan until you talk to the people who would be affected by the legislation or regulation and realize that there are many unintended consequences.
Stories are rarely black and white. Frequently the people you talk to are making themselves out to be the hero and putting the worst construction on their opponents and their views. It can be a tangled mess to hear all these different perspectives and try to make sense of them, much less be fair to folks who have different ideas about how things should progress.
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