I used to be nervous to tell people what inspired me to go into journalism.
It was movies. Movies where female leads worked at magazines. The plots weren’t squarely about journalism, and the journalists weren’t always good or ethical. But the work and the hustle of the industry captivated me.
Jennifer Garner in “Thirteen Going on 30.” Kate Hudson in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “Raising Helen.” Winona Ryder in “Mr. Deeds.” Anne Hathaway in “The Devil Wears Prada.” Law school was my second choice — because of “Legally Blonde.”
I used to think if I told people this, they’d consider me unsophisticated. These aren’t movies that necessarily model quality journalism.
But I didn’t come from a family that read The New York Times. We never subscribed to The Arizona Republic, even though I’m a fourth-generation Arizonan.
So these movies were my portal to the news industry, and I’m very grateful for that.
I love that journalism creates a level playing field where regular people like me can ask questions of high-power leaders. It gives me confidence because when I interview politicians or big-wig attorneys, it doesn’t matter who went to the fancier school or had a more elite upbringing. What matters is whether they can answer the question.
And what I’ve learned is our elected leaders are not better, nor smarter, than the rest of us. They’re humans with flaws who make mistakes and sometimes do wrong, just like all of us. That means we have not just the right, but the obligation, to challenge their assertions. Civic participation is crucial to shaping a more representative government that optimally serves the public.
It pains me when I hear well-meaning individuals say things like, “I’m not smart enough to understand that,” or, “I don’t know enough to have an opinion on that.” We all need humility, but it goes too far when it paves way for disengagement. The more we disengage, the more our government begins to look unrecognizable.
I see it as my job to help prevent that. It’s my job to help connect you to your government: to tell you what’s going on, to ask the questions you’re thinking, and to share the news in a way that’s easy to read, watch or listen to.
Journalists and the public have the incredible opportunity to make government work better. That’s what I aim for.
Here’s an example: Phoenix city officials created a plan to improve the home affordability crisis. Among many strategies, they set a goal to build 50,000 units by 2030. They hit that goal early and celebrated it as a major accomplishment.
But when I started looking into the plan in summer 2024, I discovered something rather startling: the 50,000-unit goal they repeatedly lauded as “ambitious” did not aim to build more housing than the market already was producing. Rather, it strove to maintain existing levels of home construction.
Is that ambitious? I’ll leave that to the public to decide.
What I loved about that article was that it challenged our leaders to do better by questioning whether they had fully thought out their goal. And what better issue to challenge them on than housing, a critical need that affects us all.
But I also loved that the piece showed meaningful progress can be made by forming a plan, even when that plan arguably could have gone further. Formulating and passing the plan made the City Council realize the importance of the issue, and it kept them focused on ways to improve the housing supply.
That consensus led to new programs and policy changes. And that’s an important story to tell, because as crucial as it is to hold our officials accountable, it’s also important to recognize what works. That way we can duplicate it, build upon it and improve society’s overall quality of life.
Doing this work is such an honor. It challenges me every day to be the best version of myself, and I hope it empowers you to get engaged in whatever way with whatever causes you want.
Recently, I switched from covering Phoenix City Hall to reporting on First Amendment issues. That means I’ll tell you stories about the government restricting, expanding or debating freedoms of religion, speech, the press, to petition and to assemble.
If you’re already a subscriber to The Arizona Republic, thank you for supporting my ability to do this work. If you don’t yet subscribe, I hope you’ll consider it.
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Taylor Seely is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Do you have a story about the government infringing on your First Amendment rights? Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.
Seely’s role is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
See the full Housing Inventory article, or, read more Arizona real estate investing news. Up to you! Either way, you’re on your game!
