hope.

as an executive producer, i have a lot of power. out of all of the millions of things that are happening across the country and around the world, i am the one who gets to decide what are the most important things to have in my newscast. i look for stories that are compelling, video you couldn't see anywhere else and characters who are trying to stand for something. there are things we feel obligated to cover...arrests, homicides, accidents and weather reports. but there is still so much more.

to me...news is about people. it is about stories and feelings and the human experience. it is opening up the world to people who barely have time to look past their own front doorstep. there are so many awful things in this world: earthquakes, tsunamis, massacres, unfair dictatorships, genocide, wide-spread poverty, people from all walks of life who are just trying to make it from day to day. there is so much heartache, both man-made and beyond anyone's earthly control.

so we look for stories of hope: the orphans who make the trek to the states to start new lives with foster parents...the survivors who persevered...the compassion and love of the poor people towards one another, from those who have nothing at all to those who have even less...the charity dollars and the telethons and fundraisers...but there is still so much more.

there's so much i will never see in my life, so many hardships that i will never have to experience because of my circumstances and blessings. how did i get so lucky? and how did they end up where they are? i would never consider myself rich, since i know it is sometimes a miracle that i am even able to pay rent and still have money in my bank account for food and gas money. but it's impossible to have less than most other people in the world, when they have nothing at all.

so what can i do? i tell their stories. even if no one is listening or watching, i strive to give a voice to the voiceless, to help those who can't help themselves and give them hope for a better tomorrow. because there's not much i can do for them, but maybe someone else can. and if i can inspire them to do it, then i am doing my job.