Michele

Since I was a child, it has been my most treasured dream to become a reporter. More particularly, I have sought to prepare myself to become an investigative journalist in television news, as opposed to newspaper or print media, because I feel the television medium has greater power, intensity and ability to effect people’s perceptions.
My preoccupation with investigative journalism stems from the circumstances of my youth. As children, I and my sister grew up in strained circumstances, due to the early death of my father and other issues. Because of my mother’s hard work as a nurse, we were never homeless or without food, but nevertheless life was quite difficult. Even at a young age, I could see that businesses (including landlords, for example) and local government treated people who lacked money very differently from those more fortunate. This in turn stimulated a strong desire in me to always know my rights as a human being and to always look for the truth beneath social appearances. Through my reading and television watching, I became aware of the ground-breaking work of investigative journalists, and their efforts to protect consumers and to unearth government corruption. Eventually, through such studies, I became aware of investigative journalist’s effect on the world stage, such as the Watergate scandal that exploded from the efforts of two (then unknown) Washington journalists, and the powerful shift in America’s perception of the Vietnam conflict triggered in no small part by the publication of “The Pentagon Papers.” I also became acquainted with the high journalistic tradition of investigation and field reporting exemplified by Edward R. Murrow and his successors, which I find personally inspiring.
As a result, before the age of 17, I made the decision that investigative journalism is what I want to do with my life. I see investigative journalism as a way for ordinary people to become empowered, by cutting through lies and pretense. As I have grown older, I have continued to feel that we live in a world where much is concealed from the common people on all political and social levels, and where media of all forms are used too often to manipulate and sell goods rather than to enlighten. I have no illusion that the world can ever be perfected or purified, but I do believe that investigative journalism is a powerful force to maintain an ethical balance. Woody Allen Interview James Worthy Interview Eric Dickerson Interview