It is part of who we are. All of us, you and me, as innate as any emotion we possess.
Fear.
When we act on it, and only it, we tend to overreact and under prepare.
As we move forward in our coverage of COVID-19, the new strain of coronavirus that we've all been hearing about for weeks, we could decide to play on our fears and yours.
Updating numbers with no context or providing stories with no perspective.
We could decide to do what local news has been known to do from time to time:
Scare you into submission via tradition.
Write clickable headlines designed more to frighten than inform.
We could easily do all of that.
But right now we want you to know, fear cannot and will not be our goal.
We will seek experts, ask informed questions, expect reasoned answers, and question those in power when need be.
We will not guess or speculate, or assume. At least that's our goal.
Should you see us falter, let us know.
Should you not get an answer you need, let us know.
We will not get better unless we hold ourselves out there and admit when we fail.
Where this is going we cannot say, but that does not preclude us from having a say in where we go from here.
Fear.
It may be a part of who we are, but if it is the fear of the unknown that frightens us most, why not start by reporting on nothing less and nothing more than what we know.