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A lot of people are under the impression that the media lies for a living. And the few who don't subscribe to that school of thought think we tell stories based on whatever best suits our interests. I'd be lying if I told you I didn't see evidence of this in local and national broadcasts, but I personally like to think I'm not one of these culprits. That being said, it's important you know just how difficult getting the truth can be.

Last Friday, I did an exclusive story on a major flood in a southwest Reno neighborhood. Water spilled into homes after the Last Chance Ditch, an irrigation canal surrounding the neighborhood, overflowed. I spoke with several people including affected homeowners and a representative from the Last Chance Ditch company, who told me an air tanker explosion at a nearby construction site caused the flood. I attempted to reach the Peterson Construction Group responsible for that project, but didn't hear back from them for several days. I would eventually learn Peterson was busy pumping water out of homes.

One hour later, I found myself leading off the top of the five o'clock newscast. With the limited time, I did what I would expect any reporter to do: tell what I knew at that given time.

Several days later, I touched bases with the president of Peterson. He and a city official confirmed Friday's record rainfall crumbled an irrigation canal at the construction site, which sent water into the Last Chance Ditch before flooding homes. Though similar, this story was not what I initially went on the air with. Is that because I was lazy, manipulative or lying? I'm confident the answer is no. Sometimes all you can do is go on the air with the information available. I was very careful not  to state the air tanker theory as fact, but sometimes that gets lost in translation.

I'm hoping this will encourage you to talk to the media whenever possible to tell us your side of the story. Sometimes, it's easy to find people and other witnesses who can fill in the holes in an issue, but usually it's not. In the meantime, I can promise I'll do everything I can to make sure everything I say on the air is as truthful and accurate as possible.