Ask the Editor

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, October 6th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming up next, this month’s Ask the Editor. Over the last few months we’ve had the opportunity to work with five talented podcast interns from this year’s WJI class. We asked them if they had any questions for our editor. They did. Here’s WORLD Executive Producer Paul Butler with a few responses.

PAUL BUTLER: Truly the most rewarding part of my job is overseeing the WORLD Radio interns each summer and fall. I meet with them at least once a week to talk about their work and journalism in general. They frequently have great questions:

ALEX CARMENATY: Hello there. This is Alex Carminati from Long Island, New York. What verse would best summarize the work WORLD does?

There are a few passages I’ll mention. First of all, our program name is inspired by Psalm 24:1 and Acts 17:23-24. Both declare that the “earth is the LORD’s and everything in it.” That drives our coverage and reminds us of our mission.

Second, our reporters strive to understand the world so that they can leave a record of God’s work in it. So I think Psalm 102:18 is appropriate as well.

Psalm 102:18 (ESV), “Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.”

We pray that our work has staying power so that those who come after us will marvel at God’s work today and praise Him for it.

Finally, most Christian journalists I know point to the gospel writer of Luke. His account is an orderly narrative of the life of Christ so that those who read the book would have confidence in what they’ve been taught. We feel that’s our calling as well…

AIDAN JOHNSTON: I'm WORLD intern Aidan Johnston from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Something I've noticed over the course of the internship is how easy it is to become numb to tragedy when taking in so much news. When I'm fact checking the death toll of a disaster, those lives can just become numbers to me. How do you deal with confronting the Brokenness of the world on a daily basis?

Romans 12:15 encourages us to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” As we tell the stories of brokenness in our world, we must not be untouched by the sorrow caused by sin.

I think of Bonnie Pritchett’s reporting trips after tornadoes and hurricanes, or Kim Henderson’s coverage of a small town where 8 people were murdered by one man. Both of these women walked alongside deeply hurting people. What I appreciate about both of them is their cheeks were often streaked with tears as they held people’s hands, and listened to their stories—and told them to us.

In Matthew chapter nine Jesus saw the weary multitudes and He was moved with compassion for they were like sheep without a shepherd. We follow His example. We must of course be factual, and accurate, and tell the most compelling stories we can. If we are untouched, we are not able to tell the whole truth.

I also think of how Luke describes Mary’s response to all she witnessed at Jesus’s birth. She kept all those things in her heart and pondered them. She literally “preserved” what she’d seen…so that she wouldn’t forget. We mustn’t run to the next controversy, tragedy, or crisis without preserving the previous story and pondering what God is doing.

One more thing, I remember listening to a traffic report a number of years ago on WMBI-FM—a Christian radio station in Chicago. There had been a terrible accident that killed a motorist. The announcer ended her update with an encouragement to pray for those affected. That’s stuck with me. When we cover difficult things and meet broken people, we ought to be moved to pray for them…that God would comfort, redeem, restore, and reign down His justice.

CALEB WELDE: Hi, my name is Caleb Welde and I'm in Boone, North Carolina. My question is, what are some specific strategies used by world journalists to retain joy when reporting on chronically difficult topics?

Over the last forty years of WORLD’s journalistic enterprise, times have changed, yet much has remained the same. Corrupt politicians, unfaithful leaders, bad government policies, border disputes and wars, deadly weather, broken families. All proof that our world awaits resurrection and consummation.

While we wait, how do we tell these stories and still remain hopeful and full of joy? First of all, joy is a fruit of the Spirit. We can not do this work in our own strength. We throw ourselves upon God’s grace and mercy, drink deep of His word, and seek to acknowledge Him in all we do. God has given us His Spirit, and joy follows as we rely on Him.

We must also seek out evidence of how God is at work, highlight uplifting and encouraging stories—not just the fallenness of mankind. Look for it. It’s there to be found.

The pro-life beat is one of the most difficult beats to cover at WORLD. So much bad news. So I asked Leah Savas your question. She said she meditates on the holiness of God. And constantly reminds herself that He’s not caught by surprise by any of it. Then she added how important it is to connect with family and a body of believers—where you can see and celebrate God’s goodness and be reminded of His blessings.

My thanks to Alex Carmenaty, Aidan Johnston, and Caleb Welde for their service to WORLD as interns, and for their questions. That’s this month’s Ask the Editor, I’m Paul Butler.

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