Building a Border in Naco, AZ
About three weeks ago I went down to Naco, AZ to be a P.A. (basically a gofer) on a second unit shoot for Penn and Teller's Bullshit, a political commentary project that kind of mirrors the Daily Show. When sitting next to the Director of the shoot (let's call him Pike) Pike had me take minutes of everything that we shot and made sure everyone was hydrated. Real fun. But the good part of the whole experience which made me miss the Presidential Inaguration at the UA, is that I felt that no matter if I'm supporting the Left or Right that it was my job to report.
In between shooting, running cables, and writing notes I couldn't help but ask Chris Simcox, the president of the minutemen, a couple of questions. My instinctual journalism side always comes out even if it's not my interview. So, in between tapes I dared ask Chris a question which got me into a lot of trouble with Pike. He pulled me aside and said, "Hey Steph, don't interupt me during an interview." And I was surprised and replied, "Oh, I thought we were in between tapes." Then he said, "I know, but I'm always setting up questions and trying to catch him off guard."
"What do you mean?" I asked. Then Pike explained to me that the whole goal of the show is to make people look stupid so that whoever opposes the minutemen can prove their point. For the rest of the shoot I kept quiet and made sure to only give out water and not questions. Pike was right...I was there to just do my job and get paid $126 for a day of grunt work.
What I got out of the whole experience was that I felt, more than ever, that I had a job to do. Report news in the most comprehensive way possible as a journalism student. It's my job to learn what's out there and share my experiences with an intelligent and eager audience that wants to know the truth as much as I do. The only problem is, the more I work on the Border Issue the more untangible the "truth" is. Not that I don't know what's wrong or right, but rather the many people that have opinions on the issue are all intelligent and have put a lot of thought and emotion into the issue.
So what is my goal for this story? -Not to turn the border issue into a political satire and not to pour my own emotional spin onto an important issue, but to bring journalism back where it belongs and hopefully get the attention of the audience that stopped watching when news stations started fighting. I think people know what I mean.
I am the daughter of a mother that immigrated from Argentina. I'm a recently registered independent when I use to be Democrat. I'm more confused then ever when I watch local news and compare it with worldwide news coverage. I have a sign in my front yard that reads "Humanitarian aid is never a crime." -And I chose to report on someting where, at the very least, in other countries I would get thrown in jail for.
This will be one of many stories that my fellow online journalism classmates will write. We have all made the commitment to report on border issues. All the stories will be unique since it's impossible to write the same exact story since we all write differently, but will have one binding component to this issue...To learn and share everything...the job of any true journalist.
About three weeks ago I went down to Naco, AZ to be a P.A. (basically a gofer) on a second unit shoot for Penn and Teller's Bullshit, a political commentary project that kind of mirrors the Daily Show. When sitting next to the Director of the shoot (let's call him Pike) Pike had me take minutes of everything that we shot and made sure everyone was hydrated. Real fun. But the good part of the whole experience which made me miss the Presidential Inaguration at the UA, is that I felt that no matter if I'm supporting the Left or Right that it was my job to report.
In between shooting, running cables, and writing notes I couldn't help but ask Chris Simcox, the president of the minutemen, a couple of questions. My instinctual journalism side always comes out even if it's not my interview. So, in between tapes I dared ask Chris a question which got me into a lot of trouble with Pike. He pulled me aside and said, "Hey Steph, don't interupt me during an interview." And I was surprised and replied, "Oh, I thought we were in between tapes." Then he said, "I know, but I'm always setting up questions and trying to catch him off guard."
"What do you mean?" I asked. Then Pike explained to me that the whole goal of the show is to make people look stupid so that whoever opposes the minutemen can prove their point. For the rest of the shoot I kept quiet and made sure to only give out water and not questions. Pike was right...I was there to just do my job and get paid $126 for a day of grunt work.
What I got out of the whole experience was that I felt, more than ever, that I had a job to do. Report news in the most comprehensive way possible as a journalism student. It's my job to learn what's out there and share my experiences with an intelligent and eager audience that wants to know the truth as much as I do. The only problem is, the more I work on the Border Issue the more untangible the "truth" is. Not that I don't know what's wrong or right, but rather the many people that have opinions on the issue are all intelligent and have put a lot of thought and emotion into the issue.
So what is my goal for this story? -Not to turn the border issue into a political satire and not to pour my own emotional spin onto an important issue, but to bring journalism back where it belongs and hopefully get the attention of the audience that stopped watching when news stations started fighting. I think people know what I mean.
I am the daughter of a mother that immigrated from Argentina. I'm a recently registered independent when I use to be Democrat. I'm more confused then ever when I watch local news and compare it with worldwide news coverage. I have a sign in my front yard that reads "Humanitarian aid is never a crime." -And I chose to report on someting where, at the very least, in other countries I would get thrown in jail for.
This will be one of many stories that my fellow online journalism classmates will write. We have all made the commitment to report on border issues. All the stories will be unique since it's impossible to write the same exact story since we all write differently, but will have one binding component to this issue...To learn and share everything...the job of any true journalist.
posted by Stephanie Joyce at 9:01 AM
2 Comments:
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Stephanie,
It was indeed a pleasure to meet you on the Bullshit shoot, which by the way will most likely turn out to be pure bullshit. I appreciate your perspective as a journalist.
Anytime you want to interview me or ask a question -please do. Hopefully you understand my sincere goal of solving the problem for the sake of U.S. citizens and in the best interest of the folks who want to work and provide for their families -you know those who want to work, succeed and be happy!
Chris Simcox
President
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
tootough@quik.com
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