BENJAMIN HALL: The hedgehog I took to war -- and the journalist he's become

This week is simply a peculiar 1 for me. My archetypal children’s book, "Read All About It!" comes out, and I’m immensely arrogant of it.

I wrote it due to the fact that I’m a begetter of 4 daughters and due to the fact that I’m a journalist. I wrote it due to the fact that I look astatine the satellite they’re increasing up in, and I support reasoning 1 happening implicit and over:

We person to thatch our children however to find the information — and successful this world, that is much hard than ever.

Social media gives everyone a voice, and yes, sometimes it’s a gift, and sometimes it’s the fastest mode to get accusation from radical adjacent to the story.

But it’s often half-truths, reused and recycled, with radical "reporting" connected subjects they cognize thing astir oregon places they person ne'er been.

And with AI, we’re entering a caller epoch wherever you can’t spot what you see, what you perceive oregon what’s enactment successful beforehand of you.

Fox News Sr. Correspondent Benjamin Hall with 3 of his daughters holding his caller children's book, "Read All About It!' (Courtesy of the author)

Today, our children often spot clips earlier context, oregon outrage earlier evidence, and if we don’t thatch them the difference, idiosyncratic other will. Which is wherefore journalism is truthful indispensable and much important than ever — due journalism.

Journalism is going to the spot itself. It’s looking idiosyncratic successful the oculus and telling the communicative arsenic it truly is — adjacent erstwhile it doesn’t acceptable the communicative oregon erstwhile it’s dangerous. Time and again successful my ain career, erstwhile I thought I knew the story, I would get connected tract lone to find retired that it was antithetic from the 1 I’d imagined, oregon that it had countless levels I had been unaware of.

And that is wherefore journalism matters much than ever — due to the fact that information matters, and we person to clasp it up and walk it connected to the adjacent generation.

And that starts astatine home. Small questions specified as, "Where did that travel from?" "Who said that?" "Why would they bash that?" "Is that true?" each statesman gathering that involvement successful information and successful journalism.

It is our children who marque america privation to physique a amended satellite and I cognize that journalism helps america bash that.

And if you support asking your kids those questions, you marque them much funny successful the satellite astir them, and they volition attraction acold much astir it.

And that’s 1 of the reasons I wrote "Read All About It!" — to animate them and promote them.

Fox News Sr Correspondent Benjamin Hall and the publication screen of 'Read All About It!' (fox news)

Let maine archer you concisely what the publication is astir — without giving excessively overmuch away.

It’s astir a small hedgehog who wants an adventurous day. He heads retired for a locomotion looking for adventure. And past helium sees a babe owl that has fallen from a histrion and a large brownish carnivore moving toward it.

And the hedgehog has a determination to make.

Does helium enactment safe? Does helium anticipation idiosyncratic other handles it? Or does helium bash something?

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Now radical inquire me, wherefore did I prime a hedgehog? And the reply is, due to the fact that determination truly was a hedgehog.

Fox News Sr. Correspondent Benjamin Hall with his daughters and the existent hedgehog artifact helium chose arsenic inspiration for his caller book, "Read All About It." (Benjamin Hall)

For my full vocation arsenic a warfare correspondent, I traveled with a small artifact hedgehog successful my pocket. It was my daughter's toy. She gave it to me, and I took it everywhere.

And erstwhile I was overseas, that hedgehog would nonstop videos backmost to them, telling them wherever we were, what we’d seen. Telling them that I was OK, portion keeping them funny astir the world.

I learned aboriginal that I needed the hedgehog much than they did.

When our squad was attacked successful Ukraine successful 2022 and Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, Ukrainian writer Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova and 2 Ukrainians with america were tragically killed, that small hedgehog was wrong my assemblage armor. And successful the days that followed, erstwhile I was hardly live and trying to survive, I held that hedgehog tight. I gripped it, and I talked to it.

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It reminded maine of home, and it reminded maine of my family, and it reminded maine of what I was warring for. It was similar a dependable saying, "You are going home. You are going to survive. You volition spot them again."

When I yet made it to the infirmary and had immoderate superior facial injuries that astatine archetypal I didn’t privation them to see, it was again the hedgehog who sent galore messages backmost to them.

That’s wherefore the hedgehog — and household — are astatine the halfway of this book.

Because household is the halfway of everything. It is our children who marque america privation to physique a amended world, and I cognize that journalism helps america bash that. Knowledge does, too.

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I became a writer due to the fact that I wanted to travel. I loved gathering people, loved geopolitics, loved chasing a story. But much than that, I emotion journalism due to the fact that it is information — due to the fact that it holds radical successful powerfulness to account. And that’s what creates a amended world.

In "Read All About It!" Hedgehog does prevention the time and past spreads the connection astir the forest. He warns them each astir the carnivore and astir what’s happening. He doesn’t conscionable ticker from a distance. He tries to marque others recognize the truth, due to the fact that the information allows radical to act.

And that’s 1 of the different morals I wanted to see successful the book: Don’t conscionable witness. Participate.

How often bash we spot radical watching thing spell incorrect and conscionable filming it? Or posting it? Or commenting connected it, but not stepping in? Not saying, "Stop, that’s not right." Not helping the idiosyncratic who needs help.

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We should thatch children they are not meant to beryllium spectators, that they tin beryllium active. That they tin beryllium engaged. And I cognize that journalism and an involvement successful the satellite astir them volition animate them to bash that.

I anticipation that "Read All About It!" does that — and that aft speechmaking it, you tin beryllium with your children and speech to them astir the ideas successful it, and astir immoderate of the values that marque the satellite a amended place: adventure, courageousness and truth. Follow those, and we volition support gathering a better, stronger world.

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