Journalism wasn't and isn't an easy job. There have been many issues in this career starting with the very beginning when there was no such thing as a typewriter to now when American journalists are being murdered by terrorist groups such as ISIS. Whether freedom of the press was guaranteed or not, there will always be upsides and downsides to journalism. Whether we live in a dystopian or utopian future, that's just the cost of doing the right thing.
Journalism is about telling the nation what they have a right to know. Just like a woman who is expecting a child has a right to know if the baby is healthy or not, we have a right to know what is going on in the government, politics, and the world. What would society be without a knowledge of our surroundings? Probably even more opinionated than it already is because no one would have the facts. Without organizations such as CNN, FOX News, and The New York Times we wouldn't be such a powerful country today because we wouldn't be prepared for anything. World War III could start right under our noses and we wouldn't know until it was too late. A nuclear power plant could have blown and we wouldn't suspect it until we felt the reaction from it on our skin. Members of political parties, high ranks of the government, or even the President could be assassinated and the whole thing could be covered up without us knowing any better. This is only the pessimistic view, because obviously good things could happen too. The cure for cancer could be discovered, clear evidence of the theory of evolution could be uncovered, world peace could be established, etc. The point is that news is important and we're allowed to be informed thanks to the first amendment of the constitution (freedom of the press).
I respect journalism and all types of journalism. Even the uncanny organizations like WikiLeaks because the purpose of it is to inform the people. This is, after all, the new age and ways of informing the public are changing. "Regardless of what we think about Julian Assange or WikiLeaks — or any
of the other WikiLeaks-style organizations that seem to be emerging —
this is the new reality of media. It may be confusing, but we had better
start getting used to it."-Mathew Ingram, Senior Writer at Gigaom Search. I'm excited to learn more about the different branches of careers in journalism because this is what I want to do in life.
Sources:
"Freedom of the Press." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Carter, Chelsea J., Elise Labott, Susan Garraty, Jim Acosta, Josh Levs,
Brian Stelter, Samira Said, and Tim Lister. "ISIS Video Shows Beheading
of American Journalist Steven Sotloff." CNN. Cable News Network, 09 Sept. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Ingram, Mathew. "Is What WikiLeaks Does Journalism? Good Question." Gigaom. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
