D.C. coincidence
I got a letter last week asking me to address in this column why the Leader hadn’t had any mention of the Presidential Inauguration that took place on Tuesday.
It’s an exciting moment that brings up a feeling of “pride and sense of hope,” the letter said, for people across Lake County.
I knew we wanted to do something, but wasn’t sure what. The letter got me thinking, and the writer was right: many people in the county had worked hard locally to get out the vote, period. No matter for who. So, I put out the word that we were looking for Lake County residents who were planning to attend the D.C. event. The first names I heard (thanks Paul!) were Jim and Debbie Ofstad, who’s story I wrote this week (see A1). I didn’t know how perfectly the story would fall into place.
I talked with Jim on Friday, and got the story. Debbie sent me an e-mail clarifying a few things and letting me know that they’d try to get us a few photos to run in the Jan. 29 issue.
Just as I replied to Debbie’s e-mail that promised me pictures of the Inauguration for next week, I got a voicemail from my friend Lisa Waananen.
Lisa and I went to WSU and worked at the student newspaper together.
Lisa moved to D.C. this week to start a journalism internship, and we talked on Monday and I’d mentioned that I was doing a story on the Ofstad’s.
Her message said she’d overheard a group of people talking about Polson in Senator Max Baucus’ office in the Hart Senate Office Building near the Capital. It was the Ofstads. Lisa snapped a picture and said it was on its way. I won’t forget the story behind that picture any time soon.
Lisa and I worked together for several years in college, and I learned a lot from her. I think the most important thing she taught me was the importance of the role newspapers play in preserving history.
Lisa always took that extra step to make sure the news of today was accurate for the readers of the future.
What good would the Leader be if it didn’t document, for no one else than those archive junkies snooping through old issues 50 years from now, a historic moment like this?
It’s the reporter’s job to make sure the news is there for history, but they can’t do it alone.
In this instance, it was perfect coincidence that involved, first a question, then some reporting and help from a friend. We all know things don’t usually work out this well, but collaboration and communication always have a lot to do with a better end result.