The Life of a Reporter: Competing in the Professional World of Journalism

Every journalist - if they’re lucky enough- will follow a story bigger than all the rest, a story that will change their career. For Cedar Rapids Gazette reporter Kat Russell, that story was the Mollie Tibbetts case.

This is a story we know all too well, that Iowans and the rest of the nation followed starting in July 2018. Mollie Tibbets, a University of Iowa student, went missing in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa after going on a run at night. Iowans broke into a frenzy trying to find her, from news stories, to t-shirts, to posts on all forms of social media- her face was seen everywhere.

There were many possibilities swirling in the media of what could have happened to Mollie. After a month, her story came to a heartbreaking end when her body was found in a cornfield. She had been murdered by Cristhian Bahena-Rivera, a man who worked at a dairy farm in Brooklyn, who was later discovered to be an illegal immigrant.

Russell followed the Tibbetts case nearly from it’s conception. She initially waited four days to start covering the story, because there are many missing persons cases that do not become newsworthy. Mollie’s story however, soon became national news as the small town of Brooklyn, Iowa searched for the missing girl.The Tibbetts case became Russell’s sole focus for a month.

As a journalism student at UNI, I still have much to learn about the real-world dynamics of being a journalist. In school we learn vital interviewing, writing, and media skills- among many other valuable skills- but we aren’t yet professionally working for a large newspaper like Russell. We haven’t yet gone to different cities and cultivated sources, or dealt with editors or deadlines that impact our livelihood (although they would impact our GPAs). I among my fellow Journalism Law and Ethics Students, had the opportunity to speak with Russell on Tuesday night about her experience with the case, especially with the story she wrote the day that Mollie’s body was found. This chance to speak with Russell gave me good insight into what one could expect in life as a reporter.

What stood out to me about her piece right away was the Trump quote about immigration included early on in the piece. I was shocked to find out she had nothing to do with including the quote, but soon realized I shouldn’t have been surprised at all. I learned that no matter how much a reporter wants to stay neutral, they have to be prepared for their editor to cast their political views on the piece.

Russell said that initially she, “Made the decision to put his [Cristhian Bahena-Rivera] immigration status about 7 paragraphs down, but editors changed it.”

She also added that this type of editorial style is sometimes something you’ll just have to deal with as a reporter. Russell said that sometimes in the past if an editor tried to add soemthing that was factually wrong, or something that she was extremely unhappy with, she would say something about it, but otherwise it was up to them.

Through the duration of the Tibbetts case, Russell said she visited Brooklyn (the location of the case) two or more times a week. Working against big national news organizations, she had to “cherry pick” her leads and “pull from as many sources as possible.” This taught me that in the future, I’ll have to prepare for big competition when it comes to getting the story. I’ll have to be smart about the leads I follow and my relationships with sources.

Russell also gave great advice when it comes to cultivating sources. Before taking on this story, Russell had never even heard of Brooklyn, Iowa. She was completely starting from scratch when it came to sources, but she said, “Building sources can often be about having off-the-record conversations with them first.”

As a reporter, you have to be willing to build real relationships with members of the community. This takes time and effort, but the payoff is huge. Russell’s personal relationship with Mollie’s parents is what allowed her to be so successful in writing Mollie’s story. Russell said, “Her parents being so open about everything is how the case got so big.”

Another topic we discussed with Russell were a couple of times when ethical dilemmas rose during the Mollie Tibbetts case. One of the big problems with the case was the accusations surrounding a local hog farmer in the area. He had a past of being in trouble with the law, and of course had animals that were capable of disposing of a body which is why the public was wary of him. Russell said however, that the police never named him as a suspect or person of interest, so she chose not to report about him.

The day that Mollie’s body was found was also another tough day for Russell. She explained to us that the only times you can ethically state that a body has been found is if it has been verified by the police or by family members. Russell had no response from the police and of course her family had withdrawn, so Russell had to take a different route to report it. She used the phrase “outside sources have reported…” so as to not take responsibility for the credibility of the statement. This tip will be helpful in the future to help maintain timeliness while still being truthful as a reporter.

Overall, there was much to learn from talking with Kat Russell. She is an experienced reporter and has earned a lot of success at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids. She taught the class many useful, real-world concepts that will help us all when we are soon thrown into the professional world.