Kai, We Hardly Knew You

Kai Nagata.

Put up your hand if you heard of this reporters name 24 hours ago.

For those of you who don't know, Mr. Nagata is the 24-year-old wunderkind who quit his job at CTV in Quebec City, after the realization mainstream media was more interested in Will and Kate, than they were in injustices being carried out in Basrata, Athens, and "the rest of the world."

He also suggested the mainstream media believed television viewers would rather watch reporters who looked like Ken and Barbie, than regular Canadian folk.

True, on both counts, Kai, but you're yelling into a hurricane.

Truth be told, there are thousands of people in North America who, at one time or another, have tried the journalism game, only to find it isn't what they thought it was.

They recieved top marks in their classes, went on to work for CNN, NBC or CBC here in Canada, and found out not only is media not about telling important stories, it was about how you looked, what segment of the demographic you appeal to.

Journalism professors rarely teach us that part in school. In the midst of following important international stories, like the government killing civilians in Damascus, or Moammar Gadhafi using his own people as human shields against NATO attacks, professors and instructors forget to tell you about the fluff.

But every now and again, you get to write a real story. Cover something important, and make a difference. I've had the honour of working in a newsroom that won awards for coverage of a province-wide forest fire, as well as the G-20 riots in Toronto.

I've also made phone calls on finding out why Selena Gomez is in Stratford, and what she ate at a family diner.

The point is, all journalists who have worked longer than a couple of years understand there is a balance between the stories that should be covered, and stories that people want us to cover. And you balance them both with the tenacity that you, as a journalist owe to the story.

In the 50's and 60's journalists made a name for themselves by doing the 'right' story. We watched them based on the fact they knew what was best for us. It was the 'News we Needed to Know.'

Now, we have all kinds of information at our fingertips, and can access it all easily. If we don't find what we like, or what we want, we change the dial. Being in-tune with our audience as a journalist isn't just a 'good idea,' it's essential to our careers.

Kai Nagata, in all likelihood, will soon become a name forgotten by those who barely knew him, and a nostalgic trip back in time for those who did. A soul older than his age would suggest, and a man unwilling to succumb to the pressures put on today's media.

Good on you.

But there's just one more thing, Kai.

If you really were all about 'proper' news being reported, why did you submit to an interview with CBC. Certainly, given your journalistic integrity, you wouldn't think a retiring journalist would be newsworthy.

Would you?