During my time in the public relations program, I had the utmost pleasure in meeting Jon Wells, a reporter from the Hamilton Spectator for an assigned journalist interview. The assignment itself seemed, at first, a bit daunting to attempt especially since I view myself as rather introverted and soft-spoken.
However, upon having the interview questions prepared right before me, I wrestled the courage to pick up my phone and follow through with dialing Wells's phone number to commence our scheduled interview. To my surprise (and delight), Wells was a wonderful candidate to interview for my school project. He was very down to earth and gracious for the invitation.
For much of the interview, he talked quickly with bubbling excitement, and maybe a tinge of nervousness in grasping what to say on the spot. He spoke largely about his passion for both sports and creative writing. When he was a child, Wells wanted to be a hockey or a sports broadcaster. His writing hero was Andy O'Brien, the author behind Rocket Richard - a biography about one of Montreal's famous hockey players who retired in the 1960s. Wells marveled at O'Brien's style of writing which he described as "colourful" and "passionate" and easily "painted images in his mind."
We continued our interview with tapping into the best and worst parts of being a journalist. The best part being that Wells is incredibly fond of positive feedback, specifically from readers who really enjoy his stories or from his editor. On the other hand, the worst part of being a journalist is the dread of making a mistake. Not so much in misquoting someone, as Wells remarked that he's very careful in avoiding that kind of error, but by getting some aspect of the story done incorrectly.
In delivering a story to the public, Wells likes to ensure that it's newsworthy. Meaning, he likes to align people's interest with the story he's presenting to them by allowing them to have more insight on their own lives. Or, Wells tries his hardest to provide enough information to shed some light and offer a new perspective for the reader. Both of which are noble at heart.
Wells's purpose in writing is to entertain and engage his audience. One way to do this is having conflict, which Wells notes as a good key element in a news story. Whether it's a conflict between individuals, an individual against a disease - as is the case with the current COVID-19 pandemic - or an individual against a mountain they have to climb such as racial injustice, gender inequality, or poverty, the character in the story is made more interesting and the conflict in the scene amplifies. All in all, a story emerges as very compelling and worthwhile in reading.
Towards the tail end of our interview, I had to know how Wells views his role as a reporter in society. He noted that it's not something he thinks about directly. In deep thought, he answered that he thinks his role is to provide illumination to a story so that others can better understand an issue or a person or whatever the topic might be. He strives to write as balanced, objective and informative as possible to avoid adding heat to a story that will add emotion or invite inflammatory responses.
Jon Wells's responses, punctuated with hearty chuckles here and there, were full of illumination through and through. He aims for authenticity in his stories and does this by living a life doing what he does best: learning. Wells is always open to learning new things about himself as well as others around him. It's how he further understands the human condition and becomes a better person for it.
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