![]() ![]() ![]() I don’t know if statistics support that claim or not. īut when does journalism cross the line? The report seemed to say that incest is part of the lives of Appalachia’s poor. The report said that he could not keep up. He received a scholarship to Pikeville (KY) College but dropped out after two months. He did have support from his coaches and friends at school. Shawn could not stay in his home and beat the obstacles he faced. The living conditions were deplorable everything you don’t want to imagine was happening there. He took Diane to his home in a remote section of the county. He wanted to make something of himself by getting an education. Shawn told us he wanted to break the cycle of poverty he had grown up in. She wanted to tell us about Shawn Grim, who became a high school football star through hard work and determination even though he was shorter and weighed less than his opponents. Sawyer took us to Paintsville, Kentucky, and Johnson Central High School. I knew where it was going, but I didn’t know how we were going to get there. I was glued to the set even though I had a good idea where this was going. Was I ashamed because I, too, come from Appalachia or because poverty is a truth in our region? I couldn’t answer. On Friday night for one hour the screen was filled with down-and-out families where drugs, missing teeth, filthy living conditions, shabby housing, litter and lack of food made me ashamed. I wondered: How far should journalists go with news? – Is it worth it to tear up a section of the country as long as it is the truth? What if it brings to light the most deplorable actions by human beings? Is it good journalism if it is for social justice? The title: “The Hidden America – Children of the Mountains.” The theme: “Poverty in Appalachia.” On Friday night, after the ABC News documentary narrated by Good Morning America’s Diane Sawyer, I wondered if rural Eastern Kentucky was good journalism. I am from a rural, coalmining town in West Virginia. I sometimes wonder: What is good journalism? I know it is supposed to answer questions like what, who, where, when and how but there are other facets to reporting news topics in my opinion. On special occasions I may opt for a bit more. I require national and state on a daily basis and weekly from my local hometown paper in rural West Virginia. I would hate to think I am addicted to the news, but the truth is I get weak and shaky if I don’t get a good dose of it. He was the subject of a Diane Sawyer report on ABC Friday night. ABC News Shawn Grimm was a star football player in Eastern Kentucky who often lived in his truck. ![]()
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