Egovision

As mentioned in my previous blog, I am part of an on-campus news broadcast, Eaglevision. It's a little different than the school newspaper, The Chimes, in that you can actually go off school grounds and chase the story if you'd like. Although I've been loving my experience so far this semester, I'm noticing a very ugly trend within the program.

Broadcast is rife with egos. It practically comes with the territory that to make it in this field, you have to have a huge head.

But I had hoped there would be something different about Biola journalism. And unfortunately, there isn't.

Example 1: Our instructor talks of a trip to New York and Washington DC over interterm. There are 12 spots open, available by competitive application. You would not believe how fast people swarmed to those applications, squirreling them away and racing to beat out their fellow classmates. It wouldn't be a problem at all -- except that the applicants would talk of it like they were out for blood. They would bash other applicants behind their backs, scrutinize and belittle people in an effort at self-promotion. Everyone ended up making it. But the journey they took to get their was a disgrace to Christianity.

Example 2: A scholarship-paid producer position opens up. There are only 1 or 2 spots, but naturally, everyone in the whole program thinks they, and they alone, are worthy. I'm hearing the same gossip, belittling, envious talk I heard during the New York/DC application period. It's to the point that people won't share camera equipment or editing stations simply because they want to trip up the competition.

This makes me sad. I wish we were lights, I wish we were different, but it seems that pride is dimming our light and eating us alive.