The late Walter Lippman once said that the purpose of journalism is to provide a view of reality upon which the citizen can act.

The problem found within that quote is that everyone interprets reality from a different viewpoint.

A real life example of this would be the article printed in the previous issue of the Pioneer that covered the Vet Tech’s pet adoption program.

The article in question was focused on the adoption program and a statement was made that some pets that don’t get adopted might get euthanized. The reference was to animal shelters.

In no way did we mean the Vet Tech program at Pierce Colleges euthanizes the animals they work with. They do not.

Whether it was poor wording on our part or whether members of the Vet Tech program came to that conclusion or whether it was a combination of the two, the intent of the article was to focus on the fine work the Vet Tech program does in finding good animals good homes.

Another difference in views of interpretation and the views of reality is the Pioneer’s previous feature on Chef David Lewis.

The reporter simply asked what made Chef Lewis happy about cooking, having no knowledge whatsoever that he had a prison past.

He answered the reporter’s question by volunteering that he was a convict, and that cooking helped him get beyond that.

In hindsight, the headline was a mistake. It read “from convict to chef,” our advisor had recommended we not overplay what was a casual comment from the cook and instead write, “From cafeteria cook to sous chef.”

We don’t know why the headline didn’t get changed – one of those things that fell through the cracks during the crunch of production deadline.

As reporters, when someone drops information in our lap (such as being a convict) we must ask more questions, get more detail and find out the context.

Another lesson learned is that when such information is not critical to the story, ask the person if he wants that printed.

Sometimes sources will get caught up in the interview and forget that they are talking, potentially, to the entire campus. Allow them a chance to reflect, to rethink and, if necessary, to retract the statement.

Sometimes, views of reality are in the minds of the beholder. Sometimes they are created by learning from experience.