What were you doing in the frigid, early morning hours of last December 16? Hopefully, you were in bed. Meanwhile, Joshua Murdock was on the road, documenting the all-night journey by truck, winding deliberately through Helena and Jefferson County, of the building that’s expected, one day, to become Boulder’s day care center.
This is what journalists do: We chronicle stuff that matters. Sometimes, that reporting involves what the writer Hunter Thompson popularized as “gonzo” tactics – staying up all night in the freezing cold; or trailing crews as they battle wildfires; or rappelling with volunteers working to replace the bolts on craggy climbing routes.
Joshua, who leaves The Monitor this week, has done all that, and more — and it’s resulted in some terrific journalism. But he’s also understood that behind every gonzo escapade is a relationship. Firefighters don’t let you photograph a controlled burn unless they trust you; climbers won’t take you along unless they get that you know what you’re doing.
