Outside the Studio

I closely follow the trips of leaders because that’s part of reporting the news as a broadcaster. Mrs. Obama’s trip to China is no exception. She is not a leader in the sense she is a president or high ranking official. But as First Lady, she does carry importance in representing the United States and values we care about, like education.

What personally resonates with me is her itinerary. I have had the good fortune to visit the same three cities - Beijing, Xi’an and Chengdu – and set foot in the same cultural and historic places – Forbidden City, Summer Palace, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, terra cotta warriors, Xi’an City wall, and Chengdu Research Base.

Sometimes I wonder about the relevance of such trips, what impact Mrs. Obama could really have. I remember back a couple of years to a visit by Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to the Voice of America, and later a visit by Burmese president Thein Sein. I only caught a glimpse of each as they made their way to interviews with other journalists. But to actually see them fairly close greatly humanized for me the Burma stories I have presented on the air since.

For many young Chinese students who have been able to meet Mrs. Obama and her daughters, they have had perhaps a similar experience. Perhaps her visit will inspire them to one day visit the United States, study or build a professional career here. They certainly will never forget seeing Mrs. Obama in person and those memories can only help to build positive bridges between our nations

As a journalist, I am compelled to report events as fairly and truthfully as I can without injecting personal thoughts, feelings and emotions. As the parameters of reporting have evolved through the years, I have more freedom to readily share some of my personal observations through venues like this blog.

I came to realize long ago that events like the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 capture more attention than others. It is human nature to fixate on a story filled with drama and intrigue. This flight involves all of the elements that conjure strong emotions - hundreds of innocent lives, hurtling hundreds of kilometers per hour through the darkness of night, a confined space, high altitude. They are seemingly safe, when suddenly, something “bad” happens.

Planes just don’t disappear, especially in this technology filled age when weather and spy satellites scour the skies, as nations voraciously monitor as many forms of communications as possible, when there seems to be no place on the planet to hide for very long. And yet after five days, there are no concrete signs of one of the largest commercial planes in use. I have no doubt MH370 will be found and the full story will eventually be known.

For those of us who cover and present the news, the responsibility to accurately depict unfolding developments is massive. The challenge is to verify new facts amid conflicting accounts and speculation. It is important because the story does ultimately involve thoughts, feelings and emotions – especially for family members and friends who are intently monitoring news coverage with everyone else. That is one of the most important facts that should help journalists ground their perspective throughout this story.