Newsroom morale soars when big stories break, deadline pressures climb into the red zone and all seems hopelessly confused.But let there be a series of slow news days and woe be to the editor whose HR department decides to do a survey on newsroom morale.I’ve seen it a hundred times. Under the most stressful circumstances imaginable, newsrooms are at their happiest.Why is that? One answer is that big stories take journalists’ minds off of low pay, lousy hours and supervising editors demanding to know, "What have you done for me lately."But a better answer is that, when they are working on high profile stories, journalists feel the most useful. They know they are doing something that readers value. When asked why he does what he does, assistant lifestyle editor Sam Mittelsteadt noted he has a friend who is a pharmacist and makes maybe three times more than he does.But when Sam complains, his friend responds, "Yeah, but you like what you do."In most of what I have written in the previous columns in this series, I have drawn from decades of experience and a few recent anecdotes.For this column, I hit the bricks. More precisely, I grabbed a pen and paper and walked around the newsroom asking people why they do what they do and why this newspaper does what it does. Some felt that their answers sounded corny, but they were from the heart and deserve to be shared with you."I do what I do because it combines my two greatest passions–music and writing," said Chris Orf, the Tribune’s music critic. "It is not just my job, but my passion, to continue the Tribune’s reputation as the leading source for local and national music in the Valley.’Life-long passion is also what drives sports columnist Scott Bordow. "Ever since I was 12 years old and found out I couldn’t hit a curveball, I knew I wanted to write about sports," said Bordow. "I’m one of the lucky souls who can say he’s doing what he dreamed of.""I try to use my insight and contacts to take readers inside the locker room of the local sports teams. My goal is to be their eyes and ears and, as a columnist, to offer my voice and opinion as to what’s going on locally."Tribune investigative reporter Mark Flatten said, "It’s rewarding when you can tell people things they don’t know but need to know and things people have a right to know."In her first year as a professional photojournalist, the Tribune’s Lisa Olson radiates enthusiasm and pride in her work."I love the creative outlet it gives me and I love meeting people," she said. "Being at the front of things and a part of it is cool and exciting.""We are a local paper that gives readers a local point of view," she continued. "On several prep (sports) assignments I have heard from people that our local coverage kicks butt compared to the Republic’s."Blake Herzog grew up in Scottsdale and now lives in Mesa. After 10 years as a copy editor and reporter, she recently accepted an assignment as an editorial page writer."There needs to be somebody out there who gets into the issues in a more in-depth way than either radio or TV can," she said in talking about the Tribune.When asked why the Tribune does what it does, Mary Kay Reinhart, one of our most experienced reporters and skilled writers, put it this way:"Inform, enlighten and connect people with each other. It’s information. We’re trying to provide people with relevant information so they can make sense of their lives and take action if need be." Gary Smith and I have worked closely at the Tribune since I began working for the paper over 14 years ago. Smith currently edits our nation/world wire report with an eye for identifying stories and presentations designed to help readers make sense of events in the nation’s Capital or half way around the world.I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone more eloquently frame why we do what we do and why it matters:"When we do our job well, we’re like a really good neighbor. When someone in the community needs help, we give people a way to help them. When there’s a corrupt politician, we tell people so they can decide whether or not to take action. And if a really cute dog needs a home, we run a photo and the next day he’s playing with a 6-year-old."It’s the same sort of things people do for other people all the time; we’re just able to do it for a lot more people. And like a good neighbor, we become part of people’s lives, and we’re all better for it."Do these comments from Tribune journalists surprise you? How do they affect your view of journalists and the Tribune?Next: What would happen if we went away.

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