What Damian Lillard taught me about my writing
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On the day NBA star Damian Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, I was helping to cover the desk for the Deseret News sports team.
What that means is that I was responsible for writing breaking news stories about major developments in the sports world, especially developments with some kind of tie to Utah.
Lillard, who attended college at Weber State in Ogden, fit the bill. And so I quickly researched some key biographical details and wrote about Lillard’s trade.
Once the story was published, I could have told you about Lillard’s scoring records. I could have told you how NBA fans were reacting and which now-former Bucks players had been sent away.
What I couldn’t have told you is how I felt about the trade, despite the fact that Milwaukee is my favorite team in the NBA. My husband discovered that when he asked me about the Bucks’ move once my story was up and I had nothing to say.
If I look back at that experience with my journalist hat on, it makes total sense. Thinking about how the trade made me feel would have slowed down my writing — speed is key with breaking news — and it potentially would have led me to write a biased story.
But if I look back at that experience when I’m off-the-clock, it kind of makes me nervous. Isn’t it a problem if doing my job well requires turning into a robot?
To be sure, not all journalists are robotic. Some writers draw on their personal experiences — and the accompanying emotions — to write beautiful, wise and funny stories. Some use their own sadness or anger or excitement to ask better questions or find the right angle on a complicated story.
But me? Well, you can call me KELS-E, because I’ve mastered a robotic approach to high-pressure assignments. The more worried I am about my deadline or how readers will react to how I handle a sensitive issue, the less likely I am to pause and consider my own feelings.
In some ways, this approach serves me well, as it did when I was quickly writing about the Lillard trade. It keeps me objective, or at least more objective than I would be if I started reflecting on my own feelings.
But in other ways, it holds me back. It keeps me from uncovering more interesting ways to tell important stories and from thinking about the story I would want to read about something if I was just another person in the crowd.
In the future, I’d love to find a middle ground where I let myself feel things even as I produce fair, balanced stories. At the very least, that hybrid approach would enable me to have better conversations with my husband about what I’ve written about each day.
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Term of the week: Synod on Synodality
The Synod on Synodality is a meeting on the future of the Catholic Church taking place this month at the Vatican. Participants, who come from around the world, have been asked to listen to and learn from one another and then make proposals to Pope Francis on a range of issues, from ordaining women to welcoming members of the LGBTQ community into the church.
“The synod will convene again next fall and ultimately send recommendations to the pope then,” The Washington Post reported. “The Vatican has been playing down any notions of rapid reform.”
In its overview of the synod, National Catholic Reporter described it as “possibly one of the most important gatherings in the long history of the Catholic Church.” But you’d be forgiven for being surprised to hear that, since details of the meeting’s listening sessions don’t make the synod sound that earth-shattering.
At least in part, the Synod on Synodality’s significance comes from the diversity of the Catholic leaders who were chosen by the pope to take part. Pope Francis excluded the most extreme voices and instead focused on bringing together those who have clear points of connection, despite having different views, The Washington Post reported.
I’ve enjoyed seeing social media posts about the synod’s first few sessions. Pictures have shown the pope sitting among the crowd like a regular participant, instead of presiding over the discussions from a stage.
What I’m reading ...
Last week, I shared a story about retired members of Congress. This week, I’m sharing one about retired pastors. I was shocked to discover — via a column published by Baptist News Global — that it’s somewhat common for retired mainline Protestant pastors to stop attending church.
The Associated Press released a beautiful and thorough project last week on religious “nones” around the world. The nones are people who don’t identify as a member of a faith group and instead describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular.
This summer, Muslim girls and young women came to Memphis from as far away as the United Arab Emirates to attend a newly launched basketball camp called Hooping in Faith. My friend Liz Kineke wrote about the camp for Religion News Service, highlighting the value of celebrating religious expression in sports.
Odds and ends
Last week, I published one of my favorite sports stories I’ve ever written: A Q&A with a man who’s been to 20 college football games in six weeks.
