Steve Andrews

I decided on a career in journalism because I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to give a voice to those who otherwise wouldn't have one. Meeting Steve Andrews today reminded me just exactly how much journalist could make a difference.

Andrews showed my public affairs reporting class a investigative stories he's done in the past. The most compelling story was that of an elderly autistic man who was allowed to lay in a nursing home as a cancerous sore festered on his face. Andrews gave the class tips on how he was able to use public records to expose the wrong doing of corporations and people in power.

I learned that if wrong doing is done on a computer purchased with tax dollars, any information on that computer becomes public records. The findings of investigations performed by state agencies are also public records. Andrews also gave my class some vital advise, when it comes to your method of investigative reporting we also must ask ourselves, how is our method going to look in court? I've seen aggressive reporters before, they are often looked at as the bully which people often try to avoid. Some find it a compliment but to me, there's a difference between earning a respectful name for yourself and bullying it out of people.

I greatly enjoyed out time spent with Mr. Andrews, it was trully an honest to sit in on his lecture.