archives

A lot of foreign and war correspondents sometimes forget their audience.

We get caught up in the cosmic dimensions of what we're covering--as we should--and sometimes ignore--as we shouldn't--simple, basic stuff that people back home ALSO want to know. Along with the crucial policy decisions affecting life and death, the faraway political developments that have an impact in Merced, the unfolding events that may well determine whether a young Merced man or woman gets sent to Iraq or Afghanistan--along with all these, our job should also include putting a human face on the people in the place we're writing about. Helping YOU understand THEM a little better, so they are not simply the OTHER.