20Q: Emilie Eaton

Journalism is worth paying for

Why are you a journalist?

I enjoy meeting people and telling people’s stories, but also highlighting important issues and, in some cases, sort of challenging authority and standing up for the little guy. I will admit that’s sometimes part of the job that gives me the most anxiety and stresses me out, but I also find it very rewarding when I write a story that no one else is writing and really needs to be told. The public needs to know, for example, how their tax dollars are being used, or whether the local authorities are handling domestic violence issues. I think that’s why I became a journalist—to tell people’s stories but also to highlight important issues in our communities.

If I’m being honest it’s because I’m a people-pleaser and I don’t like upsetting people. But I recognize that’s part of the job and a good quality to have. In being cautious about what the backlash will be, how someone might react to a story, you make sure to consider their viewpoint so that it’s a really fair and balanced story. I’ve definitely written some stories that the local police department and the local police chief do not like. I certainly don’t go into it wanting to piss him off, and I make sure to always take into consideration his viewpoint or what’s going on behind the scenes.

Do you read your own stuff after it’s out

Yes, usually. I think it’s a good practice to have because sometimes you’ll catch a typo that you or your editor didn’t catch the first time around, or your editor will accidentally add something that isn’t correct and you can double-check it.

Who’s a journalist we should read?

I really love Pamela Colloff, who is based here in Texas. She has done some really good work recently about a claim of actual innocence—a man who was sentenced to prison time for allegedly killing his baby.^Ξ There are valid questions about whether or not he actually did it. You know we just keep seeing those cases where there's some allegations of actual innocence and I think those are just such important stories to look into, and for the public to know. She’s with ProPublica, but some of her work appears in the New York Times Magazine.

What’s the story that surprised you the most while you were working on it?

I did a series about domestic violence^Ξ about two years ago, with another colleague, and there was one aspect about the reporting that really surprised me. I went into the project knowing about the dynamics of domestic violence and that it affects, and happens in, every socioeconomic background. Yet I was still surprised when I started looking into this one case of a boyfriend and a girlfriend who had two kids together. They were on-again off-again, and he had attacked her several times and at one point had gone to prison but got paroled out. When he got out, he ended up stabbing her to death—stabbing her something like 60 times.

And so for the project I went to meet him in prison and interview him under the basis of “what more needs to be done to prevent these tragedies from happening?” Again, I knew that abusers were charming, and they’re not always bad people. That’s why these relationships thrive because in some ways they are very charming and loving, but then they also have this other side to them. And this guy, when I met him in prison, I was just sort of blown away by how smart, and charming, and almost—I don’t know if I would say “kind,” but there was just something about him that I thought to myself, “oh my gosh, this is someone I could’ve ended up dating.” So that aspect of the reporting really blew me away.

I think we all think, “oh, well, if it happened to us we would just immediately walk away.” And I think these relationships continue because it’s not always bad. There are times when it’s really wonderful (or, you know, maybe they’re love bombing), so it’s easy to fall into that pattern, which is—yeah, it’s sad.

What do you keep on your desk?

Lots of papers. We moved to a new house a year ago and, admittedly, I have not completely organized the office so there is a huge stack of papers that I need to better organize. It’s things like PowerPoint presentations and bills, or correspondence—just a lot of odds and ends. Also I keep my computer there. Sometimes a book, if I’m researching something. Like at one point, I was reading a book about meth and fentanyl, and so sometimes that book would be there. Highlighters, pens, notebooks, stuff like that.

Do you wear a “uniform” when working from home?

Yeah, I mean it’s primarily a T-shirt and yoga pants. I need to be laid-back, and relaxed, and think about my lede.

Biggest piece of yours that got killed?

I can’t think of any stories of mine that have gotten outright killed. But I did work on a project about a police chief of a community on the outskirts of San Antonio that didn’t run for various reasons. I think part of it was like—I got assigned to other projects, other stories, and then the pandemic happened, so it just was one of those things. It was not outright killed, everyone wanted to see it run, it just sort of never did. But we’re actually in the process of trying to revisit it, so it’s possible it could run in the coming months.

If you could make everyone on Earth aware of—and believe—one fact, what would it be?

That journalism is important and worth donating or paying for.

It’s been said that news is the “first rough draft of history.” Have you ever gotten the chance to break a story that you felt was historic?

Yeah, definitely. I was part of the team that covered the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.^Ξ I think I was one of three reporters on that, but we wrote the initial story for our newspaper—we didn’t break the news, I think someone had written about it first, but we were among the first.

I didn’t cover the ruling itself, but in the Dobb’s ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade I was among a group of reporters, gathering local reaction in San Antonio from women, and people both pro and against abortion. So I spoke to one woman who was out protesting, but I also spoke to a group of anti-abortion activists who were out in front of Planned Parenthood. That felt very historic.

Those are two that come to mind. I did cover the pandemic a little bit too. Not, you know, some of our main coverage, but some of the smaller stories. I wasn’t a healthcare reporter (we had one), but I would help here and there as it was needed.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions “AI?”

I have really mixed feelings, I mean, I don’t think it’s necessarily a good or a bad thing. I think it can be helpful if used responsibly and used in the correct manner and with guidelines and policy in place. And obviously, if put in the wrong hands it can be very problematic.

I did have someone post one of the articles that I wrote recently^Ξ on Reddit, and the guy said, “is it me, or does this sound like AI?”^Ξ I was torn. Obviously a lot of AI generated content is very smooth and reads fairly well, but also it can be very formulaic. So I was like, “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

A news source you can’t live without?

I would say The Washington Post, it’s probably one of my go-to’s. I’m also a big fan of Propublica though.

What’s the biggest issue currently impacting your hometown?

I grew up in a small town in Northern California that’s about an hour away from Sacramento, and right now there has been a lot of coverage about this company. It has the backing of a lot of really well-known, wealthy donors - investors - and they are essentially trying to create a city out in the middle of nowhere, but the way they’re going about it is really concerning. They have not been transparent at all about who is behind this effort. They have basically tried to force farmers out of their land. At one point, the air force was really concerned because this mystery group was buying all of this land that bordered on military land.

Thankfully, a lot of big news organizations are starting to look into it^Ξ including the New York Times, but it continues to be an issue. The latest is that they’re actually suing farmers, because the farmers have talked amongst themselves to determine the value of their land, and this company is suing them for doing that. Yeah, it’s very concerning. And the concept of the city is also just very weird and dystopian.

Just sort of underscoring how important local news is—my hometown no longer has a newspaper, and so any news coverage really basically comes from the San Francisco Chronicle, The Sacramento Bee, or maybe—there’s a smaller paper in Fairfield, California. All newspapers are short-staffed and under-resourced, and they don’t really have the bandwidth to go all the way out into the rural communities like the one I grew up in—it’s a news desert. Thank goodness this issue finally caught the attention of big news organizations, but for a period of time, this was happening and residents were like, “what the heck is going on?” They had no idea. So I’m really glad that journalists are looking into it now.

Do you have a favorite fictional journalist?

No, I’ve never really latched onto anyone. And so many of them that you see in TV series are not the definition of a real journalist. I think of House of Cards—there was a journalist depicted in House of Cards that was very problematic. I remember she did things that were very unethical. I wanna say she may have, like, slept with a source or something like that. Yeah, I just remember watching and being like, “no journalist would ever do any of this!—Or, at least no good journalist.”

What’s the worst joke anyone has made about your last name?

(Laughs) There was a kid in middle school/elementary school (who actually ended up being a friend later in life, and is still my friend to this day) who said something to the effect of, “Eaton too much junk food.” That’s the one that sticks with me.

Coffee, tea, or Rockstar?

Primarily, I drink tea. It’s green tea, and I forgot the brand, but it has orange vibes, an orange flavor to it. Just straight green tea.

What’s the most exciting thing happening in journalism right now?

I think the wave of young journalists who are getting into journalism. I help run a program for high school students who are interested in journalism, and I am always so inspired and refreshed by this group of young journalists. They’re usually around 16 to 18 years-old, and some of them I have followed into their college careers—a couple of them that I’ve helped mentor are now in college. I’m just always in awe of their thoughtfulness, and their candidness, and just the way that they look at things, and I think that’s a really exciting thing for the industry—to have this fresh, energized perspective.

What do you do to stay sane?

I make sure to turn off work at 5 or 6 o’clock and have a home life. If I’m dealing with something particularly difficult, I will come home and hug my daughter at the end of the day. I like going on walks with my daughter, and sometimes watching very mindless TV. It’s a matter of always making sure that you prioritize your own mental health. I’m a big proponent of therapy as well, but just making sure that you take those breaks and that you take care of yourself so that you can come back to work feeling 100% like you can tackle these complex difficult topics.

I’m really into A Discovery of Witches, but at one point in my life Gossip Girl was one of my go-to mindless TV shows. It’s based on a book trilogy about this vampire and witch who are trying to track down the origins of their kind, of their existence. It’s really good—definitely recommend it.

One thing you wish you could change about the industry?

Two major things come to mind. I think the first is pay. I think all journalists deserve a living wage, plus that. And, I know every news organization, whether it’s nonprofit or for-profit, is still trying to sort of figure out the best business model, but I still think it is possible to pay journalists what they’re worth. And on the same note, readers should pay for their news or donate for their news (you know, in some cases—I believe in both for-profit and nonprofit journalism). If they value that, just like they value a Netflix subscription, they should try to help keep the industry afloat.

And then, the other thing that comes to mind in terms of something that I’d want to change in the industry would be the mentality of old school editors—to think outside of the box and to do things differently. There’s just such a resistance to changing certain things. For example, there’s a new-school way of thinking when it comes to naming mass shooters—whether we name them or not. I appreciate editors who are willing to at least question whether or not it’s the right choice. The same thing with contacting victims of mass shootings, the families of victims of mass shootings, like the day of the shooting.

I appreciate editors who are willing to say, “okay, is that the right move, or should we wait two or three days, or maybe even longer than that?” And again, also going back to therapy, editors who are willing to say, “hey, I know you have covered a really difficult subject, let’s bring therapists into the newsroom,” or, “let’s bring therapy dogs.” There’s just such this mentality among old-school journalists and old-school editors that, “oh, well this is the way it’s always been,” and I really appreciate editors who try to think in new ways.

Best way for young journalists to survive and grow?

I think in order to survive you need to prioritize your mental health. But in order to grow, I would say you need to step outside of your comfort zone and do things that challenge you, and just practice, practice, practice. Get as many fellowships, and internships, and freelance gigs as you can, and hopefully, in the course of that, challenge yourself so that you grow and you learn.

What’s next for you?

I am continuing to report on methamphetamine, and fentanyl, and overdoses in San Antonio. The first part of the series^Ξ came out a couple days ago, but we have some additional reporting that we’re working on. It should be publishing soon, so that is really exciting.

I know that it will at least have one more part to the series that will focus on the resources in San Antonio and whether or not they are lacking in terms of treating addiction. And then I will write a couple of profiles of people who have been impacted by either fentanyl or methamphetamine.

So there’s a couple stories coming out on that end. And who knows?—maybe more. As this reporting unfolds, it’s not unusual for folks to come forward and make suggestions of additional things to look into. So there could be some additional stories.