WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A JOURNALIST
by Brandon Iarte
On Wednesday on the 23rd of January 2002, the journalism class had a guest speaker by the name Charles Troexel. He talked about what being a journalist is like. Charles was working in broadcasting when President Kennedy was assassinated, the most wrenching news of the 20th Century. For a journalist, it was the most unforgettable news he ever had to cover. In his career he moved from one job to another, constantly moving upwards, finding better and better posts and never backtracking. He said " It was like I was climbing a ladder of success." He kept on moving to other broadcasting jobs because his work was getting more advanced and more difficult but the tragedy of President Kennedy's assassination was the most unforgettable episode in his journalistic career.
Charles was a journalist for 30 years until he retired from the field. He had good and bad experiences working as a journalist. He hated going on a risky jobs such as going to war zones and covering fatal accidents, but it was part of the job and he had to do it. It's what a journalist must do when it comes to covering events.
Now retired, Mr. Troexel is busy running a program for Christian students in Pohnpei. Speaking with him brought home the true nature of being a journalist. It takes intelligence, integrity and guts; and one must be ready to cover anything, now matter how boring or how tragic.
The Spring Semester Crew of 2002 would like to thank Mr. Troexel for sharing his time and experiences with us. We sincerely appreciated his visit to our class.