My childhood started with a doctor’s appointment. I had high fever that started to worry my parents. They brought me to Park Nicollet hospital for a routine checkup. Several days later, my trip to the hospital turned into stage IV neuroblastoma cancer. As an 18-month-old child, I was fighting a tumor the size of a pop can. My doctors gave me a 20-percent chance to live.
The next few years included a lot of needle pricks and chemotherapy, but I can only remember a few vague details. I would often race down the hospital hallways with an IV in my arm, occasionally running too fast and needing a second poke. I always chose the Sesame Street band-aids and enjoyed the quick rides into the CAT scan. The Pac Man arcade game was always a nice bonus, too.
It is amazing how one event, which I hardly remember, has changed my entire perception on life. Since then, several of my friends and family members have lost their own battles to cancer, and I struggle to understand why my battle was any different.
My life as a cancer survivor has been a constant search for purpose, and I’ve found that purpose through journalism. By using my skills as a journalist, I can help cover important issues and give back to the world that gave me life. It’s a profession where I can use my storytelling abilities to change the way people understand and interact with the world around them.
The journalism profession is facing its own struggle for survival. Many mainstream news organizations are now counting page views in place of meaningful impressions. In better times, I would have graduated and applied for an entry-level reporting position. I could have started in a small market and worked my way through the system, but many of those opportunities are no longer available.
In August, 2009, I founded Ewen Media, a multimedia production company that uses interactive multimedia to share meaningful stories. Its mission is to use purpose-driven journalism to explore the world in its current state and the world that it could become.
I am definitely taking a risk. In three months, my student loans will arrive in the mail and I will likely be crushed by financial burden. However, I am prepared to move forward knowing that I am a fighter, willing to take big risks and make bold decisions, in a desperate attempt to protect the profession that I love.
The future of journalism will be strong because thousands of young journalists are willing to follow their hearts and pursue a profession much greater than themselves. 20 years from now, I am proud to know that my colleagues and I will be the ones who ran toward the industry while all others were running out. Together, we will form a “profession of the passionate” and forever change the world.
To learn me about McKenna Ewen, please visit his Web site at http://ewenmedia.com or follow @McKennaEwen on Twitter.
