As reporters, our job is to find the answers to questions people are asking and to relay those answers to our readers so they can better understand the world they live in and the communities they call home.
Covering the coronavirus outbreak has tested that method in a way I’ve never experienced before as a reporter. Journalists rely on experts for information, but when even the experts simply don’t have all the answers, that’s when you know it’s different. Certainty is a comforting feeling to live with. The world is universally uncomfortable.
It’s also hard to take a step back from what’s happening and be a pure observer. That’s usually how I operate on a day to day basis as a reporter. I watch, observe, listen, read, ask questions and then report. Covering the coronavirus has taken away that ability of being a fly on the wall when I hear stories about the elderly being terrified of leaving their homes for a loaf of bread, when I hear of friends and family members losing their jobs and when I think about the possibility of kids no longer in school missing the meals they need.
No matter how bad it may get, we’ll be out there letting you know what you need to know, no matter how uncertain everything may seem.
– Patrick Filbin, north Georgia reporter, pfilbin@timesfreepress.com