Growing up in Wesson my best friend Eric Wetlaufer was always destined to be a writer, he would always recount stories and horror tales and he worked for the school newspaper before we even had one!! After college we always knew that Eric would go into journalism but none of us really realized just how good he would turn out to be. Eric is one of the most respected journalists in these parts and someone that anyone who wishes to be a journalist can learn a great deal from. So what is it that makes Eric such a great journalist? Let’s take a look.
Finding the Truth
I cannot tell you how many cases Eric has got to the bottom of after other journalists were rebuffed, in fact I would suggest it is one of his best qualities. Eric will never give up on a story unless he knows that it is 100% going nowhere. This tenacity and the desire for the truth, no matter how it may come about, is certainly why he is the journalist that he is.
Relationships
A journalist is only as good as the information that they are given and this is why the very best journalists have a solid network of friends and contacts that they can rely upon for information. This is what Eric does brilliantly and throughout the city he has lots of men and women who will feed him information for is stories, or at the very least put him in contact with someone who can.
Loyalty
Fidelity is something that is very important to Eric and he will never reveal a source, never sell out a friend and he will always give people the benefit of the doubt and the chance to share their side of the story. I believe that this is something which needs to be encouraged more, not just in the world of journalism but also in society in general.
Outstanding Ability
People can say whatever they want about the work that Eric does or the way in which he goes about getting information but nobody can say anything negative about the way in which he writes. The form, the rhythm and the way that he tells a story using frank honesty or brutal facts is very refreshing and this is why he has become the journalist that he has. Journalists should, at the very least be about getting a great story and writing it in a beautiful way, this is why Eric is so outstanding at what he does.
Finally I want to talk a little about the way that Eric goes out of his way to help out younger journalists, he is always on hand to help them out with whatever they need and sadly that is not something that many senior journalists will do.
