EDITOR’S NOTE: The Meridian Star begins a new Opinion page series today, A NEWSROOM VIEW, that we hope provides readers with a window into what we do, why we do it and our connections to the community we serve. Sports Editor Drew Kerekes bats lead off for us with this column.

Journalists find themselves subjects of criticism these days. 

I’ve certainly had scorn directed at me a time or two thanks to mistakes I’ve made. Whether it was a misspelled name or a factual error or the one time I misquoted someone — and promptly got chewed out by email the next day — I know the feeling. Typically, though, people who have shared their frustration with me do so with legitimate reasons.

That’s my best attempt possible to humanize myself. I’m not sure what earns me less sympathy: the fact I’m a journalist in general, the fact that I’ve openly talked about my Yankee fandom or the fact that my Twitter feed makes it obvious I’m no fan of President Trump. Still, when you choose a career as a journalist, you know exactly what you’re getting into, and you realize you aren’t getting the benefit of the doubt. Journalists have a great deal of responsibility laid upon their shoulders, so sky-high standards come with the territory.

So why did I get into this business when I knew the scorn I would be facing? That journey begins with a television production program at the Tuscaloosa City Schools’ Center For Technology, where former ABC 33/40 (Birmingham, Ala.) reporter Mark Raines taught a class that introduced us to being television journalists. While I ultimately decided to work in print journalism, it was his class that introduced me to journalism in general — and specifically, sports reporting.

I pray the videos of me being the television production class’ sports anchor never see the light of day, but there is one assignment that stood out to me and birthed a desire for sports journalism. I was sent to the University of Alabama’s athletic complex to interview former Central High School defensive lineman Chris Harris, who was playing for the Crimson Tide in 2004. Walking in during regular media period meant I got to see several other Alabama players up close. I met with Harris and rolled the video, asking him a number of questions about adjusting to college life and what he missed about being in high school. It wasn’t that dissimilar to what I do now when interviewing former area athletes such as Quitman’s Shonte Hailes or Meridian’s J’Mar Smith.

I left that interview thinking how neat it was to speak to a college athlete and share that interview with everyone in the city schools who watched our weekly Friday news program that class produced. I thought I was a decent enough writer, so I decided to combine those abilities with the acquired taste of interviewing athletes, which led to my career.

Over my seven professional years as a journalist, there have been many stories I’ve written that seem to reaffirm my choice. Perhaps none of them remind me of that more than the day I went to a West Lauderdale football practice in late October of 2014 and asked then-head coach Stan McCain if he had any recommendations as far as doing a feature story on someone connected to the football program. McCain introduced me to a man named Derek Pouncey.

Pouncey had been battling Stage 4 metastatic melanoma since December prior, and he had been a beloved figure at West Lauderdale long before that. I asked him if he was willing to discuss fighting the disease and why he had decided to continue attending West Lauderdale practices. He was happy to oblige. The players and coaches were also happy to discuss what Derek meant to them, and to the program.

I left that interview both having an appreciation for Derek and genuinely liking the man. I made a comment when we parted that I would come back and do a follow-up story when he had some good news to give me. Ten days later, he passed away, and it caused some tears to well up when I got the news. Journalists aren’t supposed to grow too connected to our sources — and it wasn’t like I had in Derek Pouncey’s case, since we had met only one time. However, Derek had made a lasting impression on me when we spoke, so it was natural to feel sad when I found out he had died.

The story I wrote about Derek was probably one of the better ones I’ve written at The Meridian Star. I’ve had people tell me how much they appreciate what I wrote about him and how it brought attention to a man deserving of recognition and prayer.

Why do I do what I do? The simplest answer is I enjoy it and make a living doing it. The deeper answer is people — whether they are someone battling cancer such as Derek Pouncey or simply a player with an interesting story to tell — deserve being featured and written about. Giving those people an outlet is a worthwhile endeavor.

Drew Kerekes is the sports editor at The Meridian Star. He can be reached at dkerekes@themeridianstar.com.