Being a journalist and writer is possibly one of the most rewarding and stressful jobs someone can willingly thrust themself into. On the one hand, you get to meet fantastic people and write stories that touch people’s lives. On the other hand, you have schedule conflicts, time management issues, questions to ask, interviews to record, drafts to write, corrections to make, and final drafts to paste into the paper itself.

Journalism just doesn’t happen overnight. The Diamond just doesn’t magically form itself from nothing. Interviews don’t just show up completed on your recorder. This field is filled with dead batteries, broken pencils, blistered heels, and sometimes, tears.

But don’t let me dissuade you from the positives of our field either. Being able to see your name in the paper, hearing people talk about an issue you wrote about, and even being able to just know you are doing what you are meant to do are reward enough. (And believe me, when you see how much we get paid, we better find a reward in our work more than just our paychecks). But that’s just it. No one has ever said, “I want to be a journalist because the pay is fantastic.” Lawyers say that. Athletes say that. Not us. Our desire is to simply report the truth so you know what’s going on on your campus or hometown.

We have a strong conviction to report the facts so you can make your own conclusion. I think former BBC Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie said it perfectly: “I keep telling myself to calm down, to take less of an interest in things and not get so excited, but I still care a lot about liberty, freedom of speech and expression, and fairness in journalism.” Perfect.

We at the Diamond aren’t here to ruin people’s lives. We aren’t here to report falsities no matter how exciting they might sound. A boring truth will always be better than an exciting lie (although it might not sell as many papers).

It’s our desire to let you know what’s happening here at Dordt and in Sioux Center. We only want you to be well informed so you know just what the faculty and staff talked about in their meetings. This is your school too. Don’t read the paper just for us. Don’t read it just for the Pizza Ranch Coupon and toss it away. The Diamond is our way, as students, to keep everything on the surface, to keep everyone in check, both students and staff, and above all else, to provide you with a sense of pride of knowing just what is happening in the world around you.

Don’t read this paper for us.

Read it for yourself.

Welcome back to Dordt. Now let’s get to reporting.

Adam McDonald, Columnist