What is Journalism?
Why Hot Girls Document The Luigi Mangione Case.
On August 11th, I attended the final pretrial state hearing for Luigi Mangione.
What was meant to be a satisfying conclusion to the pretrial chapter had quickly disolved into a bizarre display of patriarchal egotistical behavior as two males tried to kick Abril and I out of the reserve press line.
Their blatant arrogance was thinly disguised as seniority, wrapped in the condescending claim that both men knew what was best despite the reserve press like being established by the director of communications.
The moment left me stunned at how two men who were old enough to be my father could take it upon themselves to try to bully two young women followed every rule, applied through the exact same channels and conducted themselves in an orderly manner.
The complexity of the situation at hand is not lost on me. The sentence โBloodthirsty fangirl holds press passโ has opened a can of worms in which even Mayor Zohran Mamdani took it upon himself to comment on my ownership of a press badge.
It is indeed jarring and something never once seen before to have a Luigi Mangione button pinned to my blouse alongside a press pass dangling from my neckline.
The provocative image makes the question come fast.
Why her? How? What credentials or traditional schooling justify her sitting next to legacy media outlets?
And the answer to those rapid questions can be answered when we look at the meaning of journalism.
Journalism at its core, is the art of gathering, assessing and creating pieces of writing that present the news in a truthful manner. It serves as a public watchdog, one to hold powerful institutions and individuals accountable while informing citizens of the circumstances surrounding the events.
Or at least thatโs what my short term credential program at NYU taught me.
I am not here to fall complicit in participating in the mass character assassination of Luigi Mangione who has had name raked through the mud with sensationalist commentary by legacy media outlets.
My role is to inform the public about what has been happening to him and his case, assuring that include every minute detail to his facial expressions, what the public support looks like to crucial details of the illegal cavity search that was done to him on a forgery charge.
My duties as press are simple.
Observe. Document. Inform.
The legacy press knows better than anyone the sheer effort and sacrifice that is required to attend these hearings as they were more than eager to photograph me, quote me, document me for their stories but refuse to recognize me or show any sort of enthusiasm when I hold the exact same credential. One that I worked tooth and nail for. To them, Iโm valid as a spectacle but a threat as a peer.