I would much rather have reporters do things like this than to stay on the complete outside, get a few testimonials, and then pretend they completely understand the situation they are reporting on. Sometimes you need complete objectivity and going something like this can obviously cloud judgments, but it would be hard to argue that a complete lack of knowledge and understanding of an issue would strengthen your ability to report it. Sometimes facts and figures aren’t enough.

Reporters gloss over the jarring poverty numbers all the time, maybe send a camera crew out and report on how difficult it is for the uneducated and unlucky. But actually getting a taste of poverty, albeit for a short time, can open you up to experiences you never would have had if you didn’t do it.

When you are actually forced to eat crap food because that’s the only thing you can afford, and work ridiculous long hours for little pay, even for a short while, it gives you a better understanding on what the people who have to do it day in and day out must go through. It might not be effective for some or most stories, but I do not see any significant downside to it.

Maybe this type of reporting tactic can be construed as condescending in some degrees, but I think a lot of reporting would benefit from a little more firsthand experience.