At Least They're Committed

Coming soon! . . . Journalism 101 with Tripping Raul will be a podcast where we delve into what journalism used to be . . . and still should be . . . mainly through the lens of the 1990s. We will explore what it was like working in print media before the helter-skelter, oft-biased digital age.

The headset is charging; the closet is waiting — better acoustics in there. It’s time to start attempting to record my podcast. Working now for a podcast company, it sure would make things clearer when it comes to understanding the technology and the publication process if I had a podcast myself. So, ho-ho, here we go — begrudgingly. I’ve always understood I have a face for radio and a voice for print.

Testing, testing: Here, ethics aren’t just a concept, but the cornerstone of every story. We celebrate the relentless legwork, the unwavering honesty, and the pursuit of truth that define the reporting of old.

Winter weather sucks and day in and day out I look out of my office window at the baron trees and tell myself that someday there will be buds. Someday there will be leaves and someday I can start my garden and the flowers will blossom on the lilac, hibiscus and lavender bushes. Someday. In the meantime, I need to start a podcast.

Here, I talk from my personal experience, which although not extensive, was pretty darn intense. 

The Podcast Awards are upon us and new inductees into the Podcast Hall of Fame have been announced. Controversy, of course, envelopes the choices, but as a journalist, I am in full support of our ‘elevator speech’ when conference-goers ask our opinion of the inductees. “We do not have to support what is being said. We do have to support their right to say it.”

Whether discussing murder, cannibalism, conspiracy theorists, fatal auto and air accidents and even a woman who cut out her breast implants with a disposable razor, I hope to in some small way explore the power of words and the impact of integrity.

The podcast conferences I’ve gone to over the years — including this first one as a full-time employee — gave me pause. So many people, so many podcasts. “Hey, what is your podcast about?” People ask each other — and me. Some of my colleagues have three podcasts, all on different topics. I’m so impressed by them. I can’t summon even one. At least I could not until Kathy, the wife of a colleague said, “You must feel deeply about something?”

This is where history meets honesty. Welcome to ‘Journalism 101 with Tripping Raul.‘

I do, in fact! Go figure. I feel desperately concerned about the state of the world and how digital media — once playful and informational — has come to represent deceit and the ability for those who don’t want to know the truth to concoct their own no matter how corrupt. Kind of like the word “Christian” now resembling something very un-Christlike.

Episode 1: What the hell was I thinking? The thought pounded through my brain as I watched the dotted lines on the pavement flutter past the headlights. It was nearly midnight, I was already at home getting ready for bed when I got the call. Now, I was heading to my first fatal auto accident, with a good chance of seeing a corpse . . .

As I await spring and new life, I’m focused on daily exercise on my elliptical and stationary bike to prepare for the Mike the Headless Chicken 5K on June 1 and, in September, the Run the Rocks, where I swear I’ll beat last year’s record of one hour (hey, it was uphill both ways!). Oh yeah, and starting a podcast I’m hoping nobody listens to.