Pity and bewilderment distort rather than enable reporting

Evidence

But as a novice reporter in Uganda, I initially approached my subjects—back then, primarily survivors of the civil war—with a mix of alienating emotions. Sympathy, for the suffering they had endured, which usually turned into pity, and a blend of disbelief and bewilderment that they had come through to the other side, mostly intact, still able to laugh and feel joy and express compassion for strangers. — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 12

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 12
• XREF: connects to: Empathetic journalism requires telling subjects’ intimate life stories — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 13; Outsider status enabled clearer journalistic observation — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 11; Both liberal and conservative response criteria distort threshold estimates and lower percent correct

Broader Connections

• Outsider status enabled clearer journalistic observation #corroborates (0.65) — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 11