Student vs. Reporter

I was sent this to cover an especially rousing round of Must-see Monday this week and wrote this story about Sheriff Joe Arpaio's visit to ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication for azcentral.com.

Oddly enough, being an ASU student and a Republic reporter made me realize I needed to control my reactions, my facial features, and my urge to join in with my fellow students when protesters began singing.

When Dean Chris Callahan said, "Thank you, some of my students are here," I (without thinking) pumped my fist and had to stifle a cheer. My friend Leigh Zinsmeister immediately pushed my hand into my lap and whispered, "You're a reporter right now."

To be honest, I was glad I didn't see myself on the 9 p.m. news segments, but I did have a small conflict of interest when I reported on that story. I was embarrassed Leigh to tell me to pipe down, but I was glad she did.

As for the event, I was sad to think that some journalism students didn't want to see Arpaio questioned by our professors, but the singing protesters made for a tighter, easy-to-swallow story. I knew what Arpaio was going to do and how he was going to answer the questions, because I am lucky enough to sit next to the sheriff-beat reporter at work. I wasn't extremely impressed by the professors' questions and methods, but I really wanted to hear Arpaio's answer to Rick Rodruguez's last questions. Alas, we shall never know what "tape-recorded" response he would have given.