570News Blog: Kate Stockmann

Today, we had a visit from the Hildegard Marsden Day Camp.  As they were touring the newsroom, we naturally ribbed them about becoming news anchors. For some reason none of them wanted radio jobs.

Then Mike, our new Managing Editor in the afternoon, asked the kids what they did want to do when they grew up.  The answers were priceless.

One little boy very seriously declared that he wanted to be a “brave knight.” One of his fellow campers wanted to be an “actress who plays the little mermaid.”

 That got me thinking about when I was that age and what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I wanted to be a movie star, an archeologist or a journalist. A face for radio and a poor math mark left me following the latter career path.

 A survey by Workopolis released yesterday found more than 80 per cent of adults are not living their childhood dreams.

As far as I know there are currently no openings for “brave knight.” So in some cases, it’s easy to see why those dreams are abandoned. But some kids, want to be doctors and lawyers. What goes wrong?

 According to the survey 41 per cent of those surveyed said education and training ultimately influenced their decision to abandon the dream. Another 30 per cent said the availabilty of a job in their dream field was the deciding factor.

In a press release the president of Workopolis, Patrick Sullivan said, “as children, we’re taught to think from the heart and live out our  dreams. But at some point, reality takes over and we think only with our heads”

But do we really need to be miserable in order to be responsible adults? Not necessarily. Sullivan says “The ideal job should marry the raw enthusiasm we felt as children with the tangible rewards we want on the job as adults today.”

That is why I feel very lucky every day to be one of the 13 per cent of people who are living their teenage dream.

 Kate

You may or may not have noticed my absence from the airwaves on Friday. My grandmother passed away and I was attending her funeral.

My grandma never liked it when people fussed over her. Her dying wish was that we did not have a funeral for her.  Just a simple service at the side of her grave.

I’ve been to a few funerals and have had the uncomfortable experience of having to stand in line at two visitations, accepting awkward condolences from people I hadn’t seen in years.

I like grandma’s way better. Those who wished to convey their sympathies did so with a card or a phone call to the house, sparing us the exhausting experience of holding visitation for two days. My friends even sent a nice plant to my parents house for me and it cheered up considerably.

Now some people may say it’s rude to hold a service for only immediate family. Maybe they are right. But when a family is grieving the loss of a loved one, sometimes, they just want to be left alone.

The service for grandma was lovely. The minister said some kind words about her, prayed and then we played her favourite song. It was a healing experience that left us all feeling closer together.

Kate

The story of Atlanta Falcon’s quarterback Michael Vick’s dog fighting conspiracy charges has been getting a fair amount of air time on 570 News. Vick has pleaded guilty to the charges and is now facing the possibility of up to five years in jail. Vick has been accused of executing under-performing dogs.

On the surface, it may not seem to have much affect in Waterloo Region. But it raises some interesting issues when it comes to animal protection and animal rights.

Under Canadian law animals are property. No different than a car or a bicycle. Anyone who’s owned a pet knows that they are much more important that than and become like family. Some animal rights activists think the penalties for hurting an animal are too lenient in this country and want them changed.

It’s stories like this one, that spark a dialogue and make change happen. That’s why, at 570 news we will give more airtime to stories like this that get people talking even though they happen hundreds of miles away.

Kate

For several months now, my grandmother has been in hospital. Her health has slowly been failing and it’s only a matter of time before she moves on to a better place.

Having spent hours at her bedside I’ve met a number of the nurses who have been caring for her. They always enter the room with a smile, can rhyme off what my grandmother has been eating and, without looking at a clip board, tell us what medications she’s had that day.

These men and women spend every hour of their working day surrounded by human suffering and yet they keep a positive attitude. Even though they are often rushed off their feet, I’ve watched as nurses lingered at my grandmother’s bedside, just to hold her hand for a few more moments.

If you stop to think of what it must really be like to do that job every day; to hold the hand of a dying patient because the drugs aren’t taking the pain away; to watch people in misery day-in and day-out; to show kindness to a patient who is in pain and being unreasonable, it’s nothing short of courageous.

Kate

I’m new to the world of blogging and honestly it has been something I’ve stayed away from. As a reporter, I try as hard as humanly possible to remain objective and not form any opinions about what happens in the news.

With that in mind, I’m going to try to make this blog more about what happens behind the headlines. Let you in on how we come up with story ideas, how we decide which stories make our line up and why we do things the way we do.

For example, weighing the consequences of reporting on school shootings. The media have long had a policy not to report on suicides unless it is a case of public spectacle or a public figure involved to avoid “inspiring” someone else who may be at risk. Now, some journalists are weighing whether the same rule should be applied to school shootings in light of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

In fact, in the days following the tragedy, 570News made the decision to limit use of the shooter’s “manifesto.”

Now that you know what to expect, I hope you check back with me.

Cheers!

Kate