As much as I don’t like big stores, there’s one in town that has this particular kind of cat food that my cat is nuts for, and it’s cheap enough. So, I trundle down there and get the cat food my cat likes. I say like, but it’s more serious than that. This food is like kitty crack. My cat likes this food so much that he will refuse to eat other food that he’s loved in the past. In fact, my cat loves this kitty crack so much that sometimes he will try to eat it as it is scooped out of the container, before it even gets to the bowl. There’s something not natural about that.
But, this post isn’t about kitty crack. It’s about video game consoles. Actually, it’s not about video games consoles. It’s about journalism. Oh, who am I kidding? It’s about me.
As I approached the entrance to the store, I noticed some people huddled outside. They were bundled up and had folding chairs and stuff. That’s when I realized they were some of the campers that are waiting all across the country for the release of video game consoles. At this store, there were only a few of them waiting.
That was when I realized that if I had the instinct for journalism I would have walked over an interviewed them. I would have had my digital camera with me or a cell phone with camera and I would have recorded the interview for a podcast.
How long have you been out here?
What console are you waiting for? Playstation 3 or Nintendo Wii?
Gonna try to run linux on it?
Is it going to be released tonight or in the morning?
Which bundle are you getting?
How much are you spending?
Are you excited?
Excited enough to start a fight?
Which of you would win the fight, if one broke out?
What’s up with those Zune ads, anyway? (See how I worked that in?)
Gonna get the other console too or just this one?
What games are you getting with it?
You know? The whole nine yards. But, I didn’t.
Way back, I was in a high school journalism class. The instructor said something about people either having the instinct for it, or not.
I remember very distinctly traveling on a Greyhound bus somewhere or other and realizing that I didn’t have the instinct. I realized I didn’t because there was a couple on the bus that were from South Africa. Now, this was back in the mid or late 80s, so South Africa was a current issue, very news worthy. However, I didn’t try to get an interview with them. I thought about it, and didn’t.
Just like I didn’t interview those gamers waiting out in the cold, camping out in order to get the newest gimcrack.
But, I do love to write. So what’s the difference between loving to write and feeling compelled to interview? I very often feel compelled to research things, and I love to find out something I didn’t know before. What is it that is itchy that a journalist is scratching when they journal that is different than writing and researching?