Media Participation Project

For my Media Participation Project, I shadowed Amy Brittain at The Washington Post. She gave me a tour around the newsroom, pointing out the many Pulitzer Prizes, and then took me to her desk. Amy showed me the the different applications she uses to write and edit her stories, and how she sends them to the editors.

When I asked Amy about her job, I was surprised when she told me that she has a very unique position at the Post. Unlike many reporters, Amy doesn’t have a deadline and doesn’t write often; she spends most of her time out in the field getting information for her stories.

On the day that I shadowed, Amy spent her time in the newsroom coordinating with the photographer. The photographer knew he’d get the best shot if he took the picture while the woman was going into court; however, Amy knew that the woman would get “spooked” if she saw the picture being taken, and would either request a closed hearing or refuse to be interviewed after the hearing.

When we arrived at probate court, everyone - the security guards, the examiner, the lawyer - knew Amy by name and face. She told me she’d talked to all of them multiple times to get information and anything else that could help her with her story.

At 11 o’clock, we took our seats in the courtroom and waited for the hearing to start. The first request made by the defendant was the the hearing be closed because she didn’t want “the Washington Post reporter to be in attendance.” Amy and I left the courtroom and she immediately made a call to the Post’s lawyer, who said she should raise an objection. Calling on everything she learned from watching Law & Order, Amy went into the courtroom and objected that, since all of the files were public, we be allowed to sit in on the hearing. The objection didn’t go over and we were asked to leave for the second time.

Two hours later, the hearing was over. Amy and I talked to the defendant and even left court with her. When the defendant saw the photographer, she put a jacket over her head, preventing him from getting a sufficient picture.

I learned many things from shadowing Amy. By connecting her story to a similar one in San Diego, the story gained importance on a national level, earning a spot on the front page of The Washington Post. I learned that the two important questions to ask yourself about whether to use questionable information is if you obtained it legally, and if it’s ethical. I learned the importance of making and keeping connections.

Shadowing Amy further increased my interest in being an investigative journalist. She told me that other people in the newsroom have jobs that require them to sit at a desk and post 6-10 blogs each day, while she gets to go all over Washington D.C. in search of stories and information. I had a very beneficial experience at The Washington Post.