It is a fact that the media loves controversy, protests, and students standing up for their rights. However, what the media does not like is when protestors don’t do their research. It becomes frustrating for reporters to interview people if they are not totally clear on why they are protesting, or when you have a group of people who are there for different reasons.
As reporters, our job focuses on knowing the exact reasons of why there is a protest, and what brought them there. If people are protesting an event or giving a speech on a topic, and they have not covered all their bases, then it confuses the writer and makes the story harder to write.
Reporters usually do their research before an event, as well as after, so that we do not miss anything. When we find discrepancies, it leaves a big void in the “why” area of the story. It is wonderful that student groups protest things they feel strongly about. However, there have been a few protests and seminars we have reported on that have had inconsistencies due to organizations giving us bad information. We do not want to point the finger at any one particular group, because there is not just one group that is guilty of this. It actually happens with frequency.
Truth be told, these particular groups of people do give us a lot of material. The problems come up when there is more than one person on the soapbox at a time, and they might have different agendas. If both of the agendas’ merit the action, then it makes for great coverage and stories. But when one agenda is different than the other, or they do not correlate properly to the subject at hand, then it makes it difficult for us as writers to decipher the exact meaning of the group’s action. To sum up the point, it helps to have a good game plan and strategy. It makes the cause real, and gives it a bigger impact.
There are numerous reasons to protest, like protesting against health care availability for only full-time students, or the fact we do not have U-Passes, or a shuttle program to help students to save on transportation costs, the lack of classes, and so on. There are so many things to protest at this school, so if we have the manpower to cover it, we will be there. So if you see us coming, with pen and paper in hand, please have your story straight.