Boston

As a blogger, I feel like I'm required to write about Boston. However, I didn't want to write about it at all really, at least not until all the facts were fleshed out.

I was in class when one of my classmates announced the news. She said she wanted to prepare us and let us know in case anyone had family in Boston. It was scary to hear, but heartwarming that a classmate wanted to give us time to build a levy for the incoming onslaught of anxiety, fear, and media coverage.

As soon as I got home, I surfed the Internet in friendly places for answers. I didn't go to CNN or Fox News; I went to Tumblr, a place I know is safe for people of all walks of life and an overall supportive community. I knew there I would only find helpful information and a distinct lack of racial profiling regarding who had actually done the bombings. It was sad to see such gruesome images on the site, but it was heartwarming to find messages of hope, links to help, and stories of heroic acts rather than finger pointing.

I stayed away from the media coverage after that. It didn't matter to me the religion, or race, or whatever unimportant details people would focus on about the person or people who bombed those runners; what mattered was healing, lending a helping hand, leading a fair investigation, and recognition of those who were heroes in a true moment of horror.

Since then, all I know is the ethnicity of the suspects at hand has been discussed far too much than is appropriate. I have heard both that one and/or both of the suspects were killed during a city-wide shutdown and manhunt. I have heard there were robberies, more murders, more suspicious packages, more paranoia, more fear. I don't know what to believe because everything is contradictory and fueled with emotion.

To be honest, that's why I don't care what the present facts are. That's why I'm still not really talking about it. I'm more interested in waiting for information fueled solely on facts. Until everyone can take a step back and objectively look at what happened, the information we get will be tainted, biased. It will be injected with our hurt, our anger, our fear, our sadness, our political opinions. That's not healthy or helpful for media messengers or receivers.

And even as a blogger, one I hope you all view as somewhat informed, I feel it's my duty to remain quiet about the whole thing until some clarity can come. It won't arrive for a while, and that's okay. We need time to be angry and grieve. We need time to investigate. But first and foremost, we need to take this time to take care of each other instead of blaming one another.

My thoughts and heart have been with Boston since this happened, but my words? My words have been locked safely inside, waiting for the day when writing about the events of April 15, 2013 will be objective and fact-based. Until then, I hope everyone finds their peace and helps if they can.

HB: I Read the News Today, Oh, Boy

The news. I know I need to read it, watch it, stream it, overwhelm myself with it, but point blank? It pisses me off.

It's not the media folk themselves, as I myself am a journalist in theory/on a diploma abandoned somewhere. The troubling thing is what they are reporting.

There are currently two overwhelming sectors of news reporting which can only be labeled as "Really?" and "Fucking Tragic." Sometimes they blur, especially of Michele Bachmann is involved.

Really?
These stories, like the brilliant Seth and Amy segment on SNL, just make you think/say/scream "Really?" I'm talking about the way-too-much coverage of Kim Kardashian's wedding, the over-introductions at the Tea Party debate, and your garden variety WTF stories. I'm not saying I don't get a laugh out of a Swedish moose that can't hold his alcy, but if you're giving it more than a blip of coverage, you're probably a shitty reporter or in desperate need of a Tumblr account. If I want news that's gonna bust my gut or make me scratch my head, I'll go looking for it on sites like The Onion or the aforementioned and almighty Tumblr. I don't, however, expect to be gunned down repetitively with the same style of stories from real serious respected established news outlets.

Fucking Tragic
I don't have to really explain this aspect of the news, but in case you haven't been paying attention, every night we are regaled of tales that involve death and despair. While it is true this is a reflection of our world, this pain is often extorted for ratings. The other night, the leading story on the 11 p.m. news was about a deadly plane crash at an air show. As if this wasn't awful enough in itself, we were then presented a video of the crash as it happened. It wasn't as widespread as say a 9/11, but it was just as horrifying to see. There are accounts of young soldiers dying around the world, governments that are in shambles, and politicians who are bigoted, crazy, or both. There is a distinct lack of a bright side in our papers and our airwaves. Oh, except for when those Really? stories get a day or six of coverage.

There are still some standouts: Both "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" do a wildly good job at commentating on the goings-on of the world, especially for two shows that are at their base satire, a form of comedy. We have reporters like Anderson Cooper and Brian Williams, but in order to bring us their stories, they have to play off of their personas in many a comedic cameo. The New York Times will always be solid. There will always be shining glimpses of hope in the media, but they will always be overshadowed by these nutso networks (FOX) and stories that either make us want to punch babies or kill ourselves.

I just don't know how to balance being an educated citizen and journalist, and not being depressed or full of rage all the time. I'm constantly searching for a way to fix it because that's my job, but it is also the job of thousands of others out there who simply are not doing it.