The Capital Times
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The Capital Times is published biweekly by the students of Penn
State Harrisburg and is funded with Student Activity Fee money.
Viewpoints are solely those of the authors and are not representative
of the college administration, faculty or student body.
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The Capital Times is always looking for students to fill writing and
photography positions. Necessary training is provided and opportuni
ties for advancement are available.
Interested students should stop by The Capital Times office at E-126,
call 717-948-6440 or e-mail captimes@psu.edu.
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Diana Le
Jenna DeNoyelles
Benjamin Branstetter
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Blake Bair
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r.i
editor's comments
As a high school senior, I once found myself consumed with the excitement and rush of a developing story.
Human skeletal remains were found deep in the wooded area of my high school campus. Afierschool, I
knocked out interview after interview, confirming facts reported by local media and bringing myself up to
speed on what was happening. The last interview I needed was with a lieutenant from the investigating police
department. He was out of his office and so I waited anxiously for his call. The wait was simultaneously
boring and suspenseful. Then he called. The lieutenant informed me he had just returned from the autopsy.
I would be, he said, the first person from any media to receive the details. That's when the adrenaline
kicked in. Carefully, he dictated his notes and hanging on his every word, I feverishly scribbled them in my
reporter's notebook.
It was an amazing feeling to get the details of a developing story first. I competed with local media for the
details and won. I wanted to run with it. I felt I could conquer the world. Though it was not a major story
for the local media, it was for the high school campus. Besides, being first was affirmation I did something
right. Since then, I've chased the high of good, hard-hitting news reporting. But journalism, as an editor told
me, is not all glamorous, and I'm fine with that.
Upon returning from spring break, I read in the daily activity report provided by Penn State Harrisburg
Police Services that two students on the spring break trip to Spain were involved in a fight with police. Later,
The Capital Times received a tip from a non-Penn State student who was spending spring break with Penn
State students in Spain. The police report and tip alone had The Capital Times investigating the trip to Spain.
It doesn't take much to put the two together and realize there was something suspicious and newsworthy
going on.
Throughout the investigation, more tips came in and the story took a turn where none of the editors ever
imagined it would. The complexity of the story, events, details and characters were mind-blowing. We all
felt the rush, which was greater than the one I experience covering a dead body on my high school campus.
This involved an investigation on the newspaper's part contacting multiple sources, confirming details,
disproving details, reviewing budgets the whole nine yards.
It was exciting to relive the rush of journalism. It was even greater, as Editor in Chief, to be able to share it
with members of my newspaper staff. I felt that as a team, we could accomplish anything. The investigation
was also a valuable learning experience no journalist could ever gain in the classroom. I did not take part in
much of the actual research, but I offered guidance, ideas and reassurance. I made sure they dotted their I's
and crossed their T's. I watched them anxiously await phone calls like I once did and I shared the excitement
with each new break in the story. I can't quite express in brief how proud I am of the staff I lead.
Investigating and reporting is the duty of a journalist, but we all would be lying if we said there was no
personal satisfaction in it. In the words of Jason Leopold, who wrote about how he broke the story on the
energy crisis in California in one of my favorite journalism books, "News Junkie": "I hesitate to admit it,
but I get pleasure out of striking a match, starting a blaze, and watching it burn. My story was going to be
a fucking inferno."
Honestly, one of the reasons why I chose to be political science major was that I secretly wanted to be one
of those journalists who kicked some corrupt politician out of office, but I truly think this will do.
"And also never forget:
The press is the enemy.
The press is the enemy.
The press is the enemy."
-- President Richard M. Nixon.
Corrections and Comments
The Capital Times seeks to provide complete, correct and fair reporting. Any necessary corrections or
comments are welcome and appreciated.
Please call 717-948-6440 or e-mail captimes@psu.edu
March 25 2009
-- Diana