JOMC 441- Reaction to Brett Chambers' lecture

On the 25-word introduction:

It was really difficult to start writing exactly what I wanted to say, because I was too concerned with questioning what he wanted to hear, which I think says a lot about my personality in and of itself. I'm a people pleaser. Once I finally got down to it, though, it was really interesting to see what I came up with. My highest priority is that people know I care. I often come off as sarcastic, since that's my style of humor, but I love listening and helping, and I would do anything for my loved ones. Also, I thought it was important that I describe what inspires my actions every day-- learning, growing, loving, being creative, inspiring, expressing myself, staying positive, being productive. Those are the things that I believe people often misinterpret about me, so I like having them out in the open early on. After thinking about it, I suppose the fact that I'm from a small town in the south does affect who I am, and people who don't know me from home would benefit from knowing that. So here's my final version. (I went four words over. Oops.)

I'm from a small, southern town but I have far-reaching interests. My loved ones are my highest priority. I live everyday to learn, grow, create, inspire, and entertain.

On the lecture as a whole:

I found the lecture by Professor Chambers to be incredibly interesting. From the very first statement, which was that diversity and inclusion were not the same thing, my attention was held. I really enjoyed discussing how everyone has different stories and different ways of defining themselves or describing themselves, but I think the part that will most stick with me was the story about his newsroom misunderstanding. He told the story about "A white woman attacked in north Durham" and asked what we assumed, and our assumptions were generally the same. Basically he made a point as to how preconceptions affect what we take from the news, especially as it pertains to reinforcing our stereotypes. I honestly had never thought of how our beliefs put together pieces there, but they really do-- even when a lot of information is left out.

From this lecture, I've been inspired to take time to really get to know people and listen to what they're saying, free of my preconceptions. Hopefully with practice, this will get a lot easier so, as a journalist, I can give the whole story.