Who's Asking?

<p>I went to college with the intention of majoring in Journalism. I was the Sports Editor of my high school newspaper and developed a love for writing that I still have to this day.</p> <p>Well, God had other plans for my life and I went into radio and television broadcasting and management instead, but I learned a great deal about story composition and the art of interviewing before switching majors.</p> <p>One thing I learned was there are 5 basic components to every story. They’re called the “5 ‘Ws’ of Journalism”: <i>who, what, where, when, </i>and <i>why</i>. Some people will throw in <i>how </i>if the story calls for it, but if you have those 5 Ws, you can write a story or conduct a great interview.</p> <p>I remember one class assignment I had that I was really looking forward to. I had the opportunity to interview an outstanding athlete who was attempting to qualify for the US Olympic Team.</p> <p>I did my homework and researched everything I could about him, his background leading him up to this opportunity, and even about the Olympics qualification process itself.</p> <p>Well, the time came for the interview. I had a good pen, a new notepad, my research to guide me, and had all my questions well-rehearsed. My subject walked into the office, made himself comfortable, and, after some small talk, we began.</p> <p>The interview was going extremely well. I was getting his story from multiple perspectives and knew this was going to be front-page material.</p> <p>As I continued, I remember asking him a fairly generic, straight-forward question: <i>“What would it mean for you to qualify for the Olympic team?” </i>I remember very vividly that he paused, looked straight at me with a deep, contemplative expression, and said, <i>“Well, I suppose it all depends on who’s asking. It would mean different things to different people.”</i></p> <p>I’ll never forget his answer because it taught me so much about journalism…<i>and life</i>. It taught me that the questions we ask and the answers we seek are not al