On Asking Questions

Reflections on Reporting in Loveland

OPINION

by Jessica Schneider

I am a professional question-asker, and have been for two decades. It is one of my favorite things to do. Why? Because I learn so much from questions that are answered, and sometimes more from questions that are not.

The last article I wrote, about the letter from the Loveland Affordable Housing Task Force, took 14 days of research and interviews. That’s about the same amount of time, give or take a few days, or weeks, that all of the investigative articles I publish here or on The Loveland Voice require to achieve enough fact-checked content to publish a story.

It has occurred to me that I should sign off on every article with, “to be continued,” because the story is never “done.” There are always unanswered questions and various angles I do not have the time or capacity to fully explore.

It can be a bit maddening. Also, to quote Arlo Guthrie’s song, Alice’s Restaurant, “I’m not proud…. Or tired.”

I love truth. I dig transparency. I desire straightforward conversations, and when it comes to my local government, I want all of these things for myself and everyone else trying to survive right now.

We deserve it because we pay for our local government to provide services legally and to communicate transparently. When that doesn’t happen, well, I have questions.

It shouldn’t be this hard to get answers.