EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a first-person account by Maggie Lohmann of her recent part in a major journalism conference.

 

Since the beginning of human existence, there has been a need to communicate and tell stories. What began on cave walls and through the etching of symbols into stone can now be told to the masses through newspapers, magazines, links on the Internet, apps on cell phones, and much more.

 

From June 20 to June 25, I was immersed in the world of reporting and storytelling as the West Virginia representative at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference in Washington D.C. During the conference, I heard from some of the field’s top journalists and explored the nation’s capital with fifty other rising seniors and aspiring journalists. While I learned more about what life as a journalists is like and the skills they must have, my time spent in D.C. made me realize just how vital it is to share stories in order for a country to thrive.

 

Just three days prior to the conference, Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people in the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Due to this, many of the events of the Free Spirit Conference touched on or included this event in their presentations. One of the biggest examples of this was the June 21 showing of NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

 

During the live taping of the show moderated by Chuck Todd, we heard commentaries on the shooting and other situations surrounding the tragedy. However, an interview with the family of Reverend Daniel Simmons, Sr. displayed the power of storytelling. All of America witnessed the support Charleston provided for the families of the victims and heard messages of love and hope. As Alana Simmons, granddaughter of Rev. Simmons, said during the interview, “The love of the community and the love of Christ—just the love of all of the families for the victims was so overwhelming that it outweighed the hate that [the shooter] had for them.” In the face of heartbreak, stories are needed to give us strength.

 

The situation in Charleston was also a main topic for the session “Standing Up to Freedom in the Cause of Justice,” presented by Charles Haynes, who illuminated what journalism should be: “Find the people being marginalized and give them a voice. You can shed a spotlight and give people a voice who don’t have a voice.” This was what Freedom Riders Earnest “Rip” Patton and Joan Mulholland did to bring change during the Civil Rights Movement. We had the opportunity to hear about their experiences and hear their opinions on the status of equal rights in the United States now. They shared the struggles they faced and how they are similar as well as different from current issues.

 

Haynes’s statement also described what so many journalists in other countries risk their lives for every day. What I felt to be the most powerful session during the conference took place in the Newseum’s Journalists Memorial. There, the names and photographs of 2,271 reporters, photographers, broadcasters, and news executives from around the world, dating back to 1837 are honored for the sacrifices they made to give a voice to those who had none.

 

During this session, we watched a video from the memorial’s 2015 rededication ceremony with the families of photojournalist James Foley and freelance journalist Steven Sotloff. Both men were beheaded by ISIS militants in Syria in 2014 for trying to share the stories of the terror in Syria.Sotloff’s parents said “It is crucial that we continue the quest to tell their stories.” Foley’s father, John, explained that his son had “left his mark as a wonderful human being attempting to defend our right to know, one person at a time.”

 

Following the video, we heard from Courtney C. Radsch, PhD—Advocacy Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists—who explained the work she does to help prepare journalists for the dangers of reporting overseas and to better inform the government and public about what they can do to help. She said, “Murder is the ultimate form of censorship…we have to work together in this community to combat this problem.”

 

While I was in this session, I was focused on the threats in other countries and how blessed I am to live in a country that values the rights of the First Amendment and allows its citizens the freedoms of speech, press, religion, petition, and assembly. These thoughts have continued upon my return to West Virginia. They have made me consider looking into studying international relations or law as a field of study and how I can help spread the word now for those other countries. Throughout all of this, however, I never truly considered risks to journalists within the United States.

 

This changed on August 26 when Alison Parker and Adam Ward of WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, were shot and killed by a former employee of their station during a live broadcast. This was the first time journalists have been killed while on the job in the United States since 2007. I now realize that journalists everywhere are not protected from threats. As Mary Pilon said, “The reasons for all the evil in the world is that we cannot tell stories.” Although this statement was not said in relation to an event like this, it is true. However, the evil that was displayed is being overruled, as it was in Charleston, South Carolina, by stories of two wonderful people who loved others and the jobs they were doing.

 

Pilon, author of The New York Times bestselling novel, The Monopolists, said that “Journalism is always changing because life is always changing.” This change in reporting was highlighted in many sessions on journalism and social media with Val Hoeppner as well as a session on The Coral Project, a plan for better journalist to audience discussions, with Greg Barber of The Washington Post. Executive Editor of USA Today, Beryl Love, said that despite the changing mediums of journalism, they still need people to “be curious and have a passion for afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.” Shifts in ways of reporting was also a large part of the discussion during “Equal and Fair Reporting” with co-anchors of PBS NewsHour Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill. Despite these changes, it was evident that Ifill’s reason for becoming a journalist remains true today: “I liked the idea of telling a story—something that would enhance people’s lives.”

 

This idea of enhancement was similar to what political reporter, Juana Summers of National Public Radio (NPR) expressed. One of her favorite parts of her job working with radio is that she’s “reaching people in the car, or on the Metro listening with their headphones, or someone cooking dinner for their kids. I want to tell really smart and memorable stories and meet interesting people that drive this country and world. I want to help make connections between everyday life and the stories I’m telling.” I have realized how thankful I am to live in a country that despite the never-ending pace of life, can be connected through the multiple mediums of journalism.

 

These thoughts and experiences along with trips to the U.S. Courthouse and U.S. Capitol, a riverboat cruise on the Potomac River, tours through the Newseum, sessions on Neuharth’s life, tours of USA Today’s newrooms, so many more sessions, and the countless memories made with fifty new best friends truly showed me the power that words, pictures, and video have and what a necessity they are for our success.

 

Before I left for Washington D.C., I imagined that my experience at the conference would solidify my post-secondary plans. However, I feel that it offered me more options. It has broadened my awareness of what journalism is and how much of our lives revolve around the news and storytelling.

 

In the months since my journey at the conference, there has not been a day that I have not thought about what I gained from those five life-changing days. Whether I am watching the news or sitting in my Civics class, I am grateful to have experienced something that has made such an impact on the person I am and want to be.

 

I am not sure where I will end up and right now I do not have a clear path of where I see myself in ten years. Despite this, I will “let [my] passion for journalism lead me where [I] want to go”—a sentiment echoed by many throughout the course of the conference. And I know for a fact that whatever I am doing, I will continue to tell the stories of those near and far.