Letter From New Orleans: Day Two
Hard Truths. Tums. Hopeful wisdom.
After Thursday’s sessions wrapped up at the Investigative Reporters & Editors conference at the Marriott Hotel in New Orleans, I went for a slow, heady walk along Canal Street to buy some Tums at a nearby Walgreens. It was very humid, and there was no doubt the rain was coming. It was just a matter of how long it would last.
As I passed locals and tourists and a few security guards, I kept wondering if any of them truly understood the danger we’re facing. Probably not, I thought, but, for their own good, they better wise up — and quick.
I wondered if I was paranoid, even kind of crazy, but after spending the day listening to very knowledgeable journalists, I was certain I was not. I kept walking to Walgreens.
My day started off at a session called “Uncovering hope in hard times: How to strengthen your investigation with a solutions mindset.” Lots of solid wisdom from the panelists, and lots of great tips. But the public, the reporters essentially said, doesn’t want only the gruesome facts of yet another awful scandal. They want solutions, and a bit of hope, which is fair enough.
Then, in a different room, came the next session: “Real estate investigations: Covering the government, private sector, and private equity sectors.” More solid wisdom from the panelists, more great tips.
But in between the lines, the reporters had revealed something very disturbing: there are many wealthy people, helped by many little-known groups and powerful politicians across America, who will do anything to anyone to make the big bucks. I always knew that, but I didn’t know to what extent. That was when the cold, hard truth sunk in.
By the final session (“Covering corporate behavior: What they do (not what they say) and their big plans for the future”), I realized that a whole bunch of us will be screwed if we don’t understand the cold, hard truth — and don’t make the bold, righteous moves to stop it, and steer things in a different direction.
A few minutes later, I was walking along Canal Street, needing a roll of Ultra Strength Tums.
Now if I want to follow the wisdom that was shared with me earlier in the day — a wisdom that I knew instinctively, and was confirmed at that first session — then I should offer a solution, which may give the public some hope.
As I walked back to the hotel with my Tums, I was convinced, more than ever, that we must embrace a truth I had learned years ago when I was traveling around the world: we are one. If we unify around that, then we’ll be calling the shots — and the greed hounds, and the power mongers, will have a hell of a time trying to stop us.
Read “Letter From New Orleans: Day One.”