I Will Always Love Storytelling

It's been a bit of a week for the journalism community. Twitter exploded last Sunday with the news of Kobe and Gianna Bryant's unexpected deaths in a tragic helicopter crash in California. With that news came a storm of tweets and coverage from journalists and news organizations trying to be the first to break something new in the story, leading to some less-than-stellar reporting.

TMZ was the first to break the story about Bryant's death on Sunday. However, they did so before Bryant's family or the families of the other victims were notified, sparking outrage on Twitter. Some news organizations were cautious about the news and waited to confirm. Others, such as ABC, jumped on the story and reported inaccurate information, which led to the suspension of chief national correspondent Matt Gutman.

I searched the words "Kobe journalism" on Twitter on Sunday night. Most of the tweets that came up were critical of how the media handled the news. Some disparaged the entire field of journalism, while others reaffirmed the user's decision to switch from their journalism major in college. In all of this chaos, however, my enthusiasm for my future career in journalism has not been diminished but has grown even stronger.

I've been telling stories from a young age. I had a rather creative imagination as a child and would "embellish" facts about myself in an attempt to seem more interesting than I thought I was. I told my entire kindergarten class that I played Violet Beauregarde in the 2005 movie adaptation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I remember most of my classmates actually believed me until the news spread to my teacher, who put a stop to the "fake news" going around the classroom.

My sister (right) and I around the time I told my kindergarten classmates I was a movie star.

I'm glad to report that my journalistic ethics have vastly improved since I was 5. However, my love for telling stories as a child has grown into a passion for writing and producing stories that need to be told. I have a strong interest in both science and audio and hope to work in a podcast or radio setting producing stories about scientific developments and their impact on our world. Even if this isn't the kind of job I get right away in my career, I'd be happy with almost any job in the journalism industry that allows me to tell great stories.

Watching the coverage of Bryant's death on Sunday was a reminder of why I have chosen this career path. While there was a good amount of substandard journalism being done, I thought the Los Angeles Times did an excellent job with their coverage. They presented the story without reporting false information, confirmed all their sources independently, and had a multifaceted approach to the story. Bryant's life went beyond the world of sports, and I thought the Los Angeles Times portrayed this effectively through their analysis of reactions to the news of his death. The New York Times also did great work and has continued to explore the effects of Bryant's death, especially in navigating his 2003 sexual assault case.

While I sincerely hope that a tragic accident will not occur, I hope that I get the opportunity to cover a monumental story like this in my career. Telling stories is more important now than ever, and it is our job as journalists to make sure they are told. Stories have the ability to create change and inspire great ideas for the betterment of society, and I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to tell them in a way that will hopefully engage and inspire my audiences.