Professional imagery
This is basically a professional memoir about Fletcher's career as a television news reporter. As a reporter, he stretched the limit of what could be expected of a newscaster by pushing the envelope, finding compelling human stories in circumstances that scare most reporters away. His career is defined by his professional awards and his broad acclaim, so this can be seen as a kind of victory lap for the reporter. He explains how his career evolved over time to make his point of view evolve to the point it is now.
The news and narrative imagery
Martin is a man of story. He tries to find the story in any endeavor or situation. He doesn't just deliver facts, but rather, he invests himself into the fabric of whatever environment he is sent to investigate, and then he shares what about that experience felt compelling to him emotionally. In other words, he shapes his entire professional vision and goal around the audience, because he knows it is narrative imagery that makes a situation salient to human viewers. He explains that this deeply humanistic aspect of his professional approach is rooted in his Jewish heritage and the sacredness of stories in that world view.
The hero's journey
Fletcher's life accidentally follows the plot of a hero's journey so that one can see the way life navigated him through the process of becoming himself. This came with an inciting incident—the decision to leave BBC to become an entry-level camera operator. His excellence with that little bit of experience stoked his desire for greatness, and then one day, he gets his first story. That shows him crossing the threshold into the chaotic drama of discovering his own potential for journalistic greatness. Enduring the stories are often like trials and tribulations, and he has to conquer his fear and celebrate the adventure of his life in order to survive it.
Violence and calamity
Fletcher is not just a professional anything—he is a professional "truther." His job is essentially to find the truth out about various situations, and then to share that insight with the people who watch him. What he shares by way of his witness is the violence and calamity of the earth. That is the "truth" that he is often sent to witness and exploit. He is charged to endure painful moments in order to give knowledge to people, many of whom will not find out the truth except by reporting.
