WJI 2019, Day 8 AM

“You look very intense today,” Susan Olasky tells me as I prep for the mock press conference. I’m not quite sure how to interpret her comment, but I embrace the descriptive nonetheless. Perhaps an aura of intensity will mask the apprehension I feel regarding the upcoming press conference. Armed with my notebook and pencil, outfitted in combat heels and bulletproof blazer, and fueled by too much coffee, I’m ready to drill the legal counsels. Today, I fight for free speech. My fellow WJIers fight with me.

A woman with a battle-hardened smile and heels that dwarf mine descends the steps and stands behind the podium. She gives her opening statement, and the barrage of questions begins. She blocks every one. The ADF lawyer comes to the front lines next and endures the same onslaught of probing questions. His battle over free speech will continue for weeks, but mine begins and ends today.

My fellow journalists and I wrestle with words for the majority of the morning. How do we condense such an important case into 45 seconds? Which soundbite most effectively represents the case? How can we tell this story in a way that highlights its magnitude to the public?

We train with the masters. Nick Eicher, Paul Butler, and J.C. Derrick slice our writing into shreds, leaving pools of ink in their wake. But we bind up our wounds, get up off the floor, and renew the attack stronger than before.

The training is brutal, but we endure it because we are the future defenders of free speech. We are the press.

Micaela Burrow, reporting for duty.