Wut aye lernd in skool t'day II

JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM

c/o jcu.edu

            My teacher today was once my student. Ashley Bastock has a grounded mezzo speaking voice with a resonance usually found in speakers twice her age. Meet the Press thought well enough of her as a Tim Russert Meet the Press fellow that they have kept her on as production assistant after her internship officially ended. In this capacity she has had to run shotgun to Chuck Todd's whims in the driver's seat of the revered weekly news interview show. This means getting the right graphic or facts ready to support him, sometimes composing copy on the fly. These are communication skills on steroids. The world of television can be as dynamic as the next thought and to be there with the right support as the cameras are rolling is a skill that is profound on so many levels. Resourcefulness, superior writing skills, an ability to listen and even to anticipate all come into play, and all unsung, in the background.

          When Ashley was in my CO-100 speech class she demonstrated that behind a giving and cheerful demeanor was a keen ear for the right word, and an instinct for how to deliver it. Her relaxed yet pointed speeches made you come to her for her warmth and yet still listen for what you might learn: a speaker of intelligence and integrity wrapped in a "just folks" persona.

         What Ashley also projects is worth learning. She is where she wants to be and it shows. There is a sense that life is for living and while the hours may be long and stressful in journalism, the rewards are so manifest that the default impression she gives is one of a joy of engagement. This can't be taught but it can be cultivated. Enthusiasm is a wire in our psyche that can be tripped with the right mindset. I have seen Ashley attack the most trivial matters with this kind of gusto and I can't help but think this is part of what Chuck Todd sensed about her when he made sure she continued on his team.

       A more tangible lesson, however, is her appreciation of a journalist's responsibility to get at the truth, no matter how ugly it might be. This also means not becoming enslaved to personal opinion but make a concerted effort to put bias aside in favor of the confirm-worthy fact.  Political journalism, unlike other "looser" types such as sports or entertainment is as close to "curing cancer" as a journalist will come. It is there to provide a service that is trustworthy to the community first and foremost, in her view, and therefore needs the discipline and the research and study behind it to do it well. "It is better to be right than to be first," she said.

       Perhaps there's a slogan there. Maybe we should stop saying we should make "America First!" and start trying to make "America right." It's hard work, but it may be all we have to save democracy in these uncertain times.