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A photo by RGJ staffer Jason Bean of a protest in Minden caught national attention — in some cases, for the wrong reasons.
But Jenny Kane’s follow-up story shows why reporting, context and local knowledge — the standard stuff of journalism — remain the keystones for information in chaotic times.
Here’s an apt comment from David Nelson, editor of the Kitsap Sun, the newspaper for Bremerton, Wash.:
“The story illustrates to me why the survival of local newspapers is so important if we really want to understanding our communities and our country. It’s on my mind in the wake of big conventions that there’s more going on than a campaign slogan would have you believe. It’s our daily reporting — the good, the bad, the complicated, the change in opinions — is what helps a community best understand how to move forward,” Nelson wrote.
Kane brought together the two Northern Nevada men seen most prominently in the photo, and the resulting story not only supplied much-needed explanation for what was going on at the moment but the motivations that brought the men to the protest in the first place.
It demonstrates the power of journalism — and the risk in jumping to conclusions based on what you read on some social media.