The most profound lessons about journalism I've learned have been taught to me by the people I've covered.
Interpretation
The best education in journalism comes from real-life experiences with people.
Jodi Kantor emphasizes that the most valuable insights and lessons in journalism often arise from interactions with the subjects of her reporting. These experiences highlight the importance of empathy and understanding in capturing compelling stories that resonate with the audience.
In practice
During a speech at a journalism conference to inspire new reporters.
Boys do not evaluate a book. They divide books into categories. There are sexy books, war books, westerns, travel books, science fiction. A boy will accept anything from a section he knows rather than risk another sort. He has to have the label on the bottle to know it is the mixture as before.
You can teach students how to work; you can teach them technique - how to use reason; you can even give them a sense of proportions - of order. You can teach them general principles.
Once you have read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you.
I saw as a teacher how, if you take that spark of learning that those children have, and you ignite it, you can take a child from any background to a lifetime of creativity and accomplishment.
Writing, in any sense that matters, cannot be taught. It can only be learned by each separate one of us in his own way, by the use of his own powers of imagination and perception, the ability to learn the lessons he has set for himself.
In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer - in any language - would reach the same standard as an office secretary in the West.
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