Oscar Maciel, a 34 year old San Francisco native, has recently arrived to the Eugene area. With a degree in Broadcasting and Electronic Communication Arts he has taken on the role of KEZI’s newest news reporter. But before finding his way onto the TV screen, Oscar was a teacher. After his teaching days, he became a writer for the KRON 4 News in San Francisco which led him to discover his passion as a news reporter.  

Although prepared for the job and ready to satisfy his curiosity, the novice reporter was never told of “how much the job pushed him to the brink.” Only three months after being employed by KEZI, he was assigned to report on the Umpqua Community College shooting. While others both locally and nationally were focused on getting the highlights of the tragic story, Oscar struggled with the trauma of the event and his own ethics of what is an appropriate story in such an extreme context. Along with other reporters, he was offered the opportunity to go to into a victim’s relative’s house. After weighing the decision, he refused, feeling it was too exploitative. He does understand the other side, in that is gives the story a human face, but he had to follow his own feelings. This experience brought Oscar to the realization of what’s ethical to show to viewers and it was his job to discern what news was and what was important.

Holding respect for those who are being interviewed and those watching the news is of utmost importance to Oscar. While at UCC campus, another local journalist approached the story in what he felt was an invasive way. She often appeared to shoved the camera in the their face and asked questions until the subject responded. Oscar perhaps obtained less footage than the other journalist, but instead of playing up the aesthetics of victims of the tragedy, Oscar asked victims individually if they were comfortable being filmed and if they wouldn’t mind sharing their story.  It was only when a victim agreed that Oscar would then bring in his film crew and begin the process. Again, Oscar recognized that there were two sides to this, however. The other reporter felt like she would get a more raw and emotional response to events. Oscar simply felt that this was inauthentic to his own nature. 

Oscar says the fairest way to do the job is to “keep integrity by sticking as close as possible to the truth.” Even local news stations, like KEZI, have fairly large demographics and as a result the ratings of the station depend partially on making the viewers happy. Whether that be adhering to sponsors or mentioning Kim Kardashian’s latest fashion line, the reality is that it’s important to include these topics to allow leeway for items of a more serious caliber like racism, tragedies, politics. He discussed the reality of what stories ore selected, and how the personalities of the newsroom and ratings all influence what we see produced each day. 

Oscar says he really enjoys the news during this time because the news is evolving, and it is exciting to be a part of telling the stories.