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Senior Column: My time as local whistleblower

Byline photo of Akshaya Ashokanand
Akshaya Ashokanand, Staff Writer
May 13, 2025
The Sidekick staff writer Akshaya Ashokanand shares her experience as a journalist for the first and last time in the program. Her experience was exhilarating, and she created memories allowing her to change her perspective on journalism. Photo by Vidya Praveen.
The Sidekick staff writer Akshaya Ashokanand shares her experience as a journalist for the first and last time in the program. Her experience was exhilarating, and she created memories allowing her to change her perspective on journalism. Photo by Vidya Praveen.
Vidya Praveen

This is not journalism.

Technically, it is. This column will be published on a news site and undergo an editing process, but to me, this is not journalism. As a senior and a first-year staffer, I joined The Sidekick with the idea the site would be a platform to make my voice heard, but I have learned that the news is not about sharing my voice. 

It is about the people’s voice.

Our adviser Chase Wofford emphasizes that news is the first word in a newspaper. News in its purest form does not have intermediaries, it is just a message. Information with a human touch — that is news.

The Sidekick staff writer Akshaya Ashokanand shares her experience as a journalist for the first and last time in the program. Her experience was exhilarating, and she created memories allowing her to change her perspective on journalism. Photo by Vidya Praveen.
(Vidya Praveen)

It took me a while to realize, but I understood the responsibility journalists have when I did my first feature. In the making of that story, I was just a funnel, piecing together someone’s whole story into a page.

The Sidekick has taught me journalism is about ethics. It is about being upstanding and unbiased, even when you are not reporting. There are a thousand angles to every story, and while you cannot know or understand all of them, it is important to acknowledge the truth of an issue has varied impacts.

This program has made me a better person, one with a better eye. The Sidekick is not about its journalists — it is about the people of Coppell. From school closings and budget crises to cultural celebrations and commemorating our history, journalism is about highlighting the experiences of a community.

In a time where media distrust is widespread and journalists are seen as vehicles of propaganda, I had the fortune of being part of an active newsroom. From experience, I know a true journalist mitigates bias and has the responsibility of reporting the truth. 

A true journalist, no matter the story, digs. Journalism is an art where reporters dig for the truth that is so rarely given to them plain faced. I have a long way to go before I become a full-fledged news hound, before I develop the muscle to scour for the truth, but The Sidekick gave me the tools I need to be a trustworthy source of information.

Thank you, Sidekick, for widening my horizons, for giving me the opportunity to amplify my community and for giving me a use for my voice.

-30-

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