Breaking big stories requires care and attention that is crucial to the work of a journalist — but being the journalist to break a big story requires the same care and attention as the story itself.
Pierre Thomas, senior justice correspondent at ABC, shared his expertise in the panel “Breaking big stories” at MediaFest 25. In the spirit of breaking news, Thomas hosted the panel via Zoom from his car while waiting to go into a courthouse for a last-minute story. It was moderated by Tara Puckey, the executive director at the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).
The current challenges journalists face are changing how information is accessed, Thomas said, but it is not impossible to get the facts.
“The only weapon that we have is showing up,” Thomas said. “Having integrity and making clear that the only agenda we have is telling the story truthfully about what they’re doing [and] what we’re witnessing. That’s it.”
Showing up matters, but being right matters more, Thomas said. When you get it wrong, the repercussions and ramifications can manifest in different ways.
“The viewers will start to say ‘That person has got to go,’” Thomas said. “‘Why should I be turning to them? I’m going to tune into a place where information is correct.’”
To avoid this, just make the extra call to a source. While mistakes happen, they should not be from a lack of evidence, per Thomas
In this line of work, burnout is a real issue. Thomas was on the ground in New York for 9/11— a devastating experience where he had to hold back his own grief on air and worked countless hours, he said.
It wasn’t until three months later that Thomas finally processed what had happened, he said.
“I was eating breakfast and I just started crying uncontrollably, just tears running down my face,” Thomas said. “My wife walked in and said ‘What’s wrong with the pancakes?’”
While this type of burnout can happen, Thomas shared a key strategy to stay grounded.
“Take a moment … when possible, to just watch stories [you’ve] covered,” Thomas said. “I try to watch everything I do each week. When possible, think about people, especially stories of volume loss.”
Growing up in a small town in central Virginia, Thomas was the first person in his region to be in broadcast television— something no one would have envisioned for him.
“Being a young African-American kid from a poor middle-income region, I always say I’m not special,” Thomas said. “I try to do special things.”
Thomas spoke to every student in the audience, asking how to make a name for themselves, how to get started, and how to find sources.
“You can absolutely do it,” Thomas said. “There’s no reason why you can’t.”
To break big stories, you have to be trusted, Thomas said. Whether you are working on your campus paper or small-town publication, you have to pour everything into the work you do, he said.
“It doesn’t matter where you are,” Thomas said. “It’s what you do.”