Story by Jilly Kuehn
HUQOQ, Israel — “Anyone who goes into journalism is a hero”
Eight words I never thought I’d hear. But I heard them nonetheless on my last day atop a sweltering mountain in Huqoq, Israel.
I decided to go to this remote village in Galilee this summer when my professor at UNC-Chapel Hill pitched the trip as a unique opportunity that would set me apart from others in my field. A renowned UNC professor, Jodi Magness, was in Huqoq, leading an archeological dig of a fifth century synagogue. I would be with a group of journalism students producing stories about the site. As a broadcast journalism major, I knew that I may not get another opportunity to work as an “international correspondent” in college.
My first phone call was to my mom.
“Israel??”
Yes, mom. Israel.
When I committed to the trip I was excited. And then immediately nervous. To be a journalist today means to be someone without many cheerleaders. Instead, everyone picks apart your work, looking for flaws. The criticism is appreciated, but it makes the work daunting. One of the greatest and most challenging aspects about being a journalist is the immense responsibility.
There is stress enough to create broadcast pieces on a normal day for my coursework at UNC. I have to explore every angle,pick the most accurate voice, and evaluate the risks that running a particular story might hold.
Now, I was about to do this in an unfamiliar location. A whole new layer of intricacies awaited me in Israel — customs, history, politics. I was nervous. In this age of fake news, I knew I was either about to either create an exceptional piece or fail miserably at the hands of a slight inaccuracy.
My job was to interview and create profiles of the students and scholars doing the excavation. And this excavation, which has been going on during the summers since 2011, was important. Mosaics had been uncovered that changed Judaic religious history. I planned to get the tone and significance of the work and the workers right.
Some of the people on the dig had never been on camera before. Some weren’t too interested in the concept of being the star of a story. And some knew so much about their field that I could barely keep up in interviews.
But this was my job. I researched and read and listened. I redirected conversation, and asked the same question different ways for the sake of clarification.
In the process I found my confidence. I got some guts.
Being a journalist isn’t necessarily difficult. The hardest part is being bold enough to not care about being annoying, nosey or impolite. It’s my nature as a human to try to avoid these tendencies, but as a journalist, I know I can’t avoid them. It’s part of our continued quest for truth.
We must have confidence in our abilities.
So when the trip wrapped up I felt accomplished in myself, but hadn’t heard too much affirmation from the archaeologists working on the dig. Was it a good experience for them? Did they like us? Did they respect our work like we respected theirs?
No idea.
Until one staff member said something in passing that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
“Anyone who goes into journalism is a hero.”
And that, more than any personal affirmation, set my heart on fire.
