Journalists are the bearers of truth; watchdogs over the government. Journalism is, and I cannot stress this enough, so important! People often forget the importance of journalism. They take for granted the news that appears so quickly at their fingertips.
It’s easy to forget the people behind such news. Journalists have lost and continue to lose their lives and are imprisoned in search for the stories people need to read, hear and see.
Jamal Khashoggi was a writer for The Washington Post and was killed last year for his reporting. Since, conversations about the importance of protecting and advocating for journalists has been a topic pertinent in society. Time made Khashoggi and other slain or imprisoned journalists 2018’s Person(s) of the Year. During the Super Bowl, the Post created and ran an ad about how the press is essential to an informed public.
Not only have journalists encountered prison and danger alike, but there have recently been layoffs within several companies, such as BuzzFeed and Slate, making the war on journalism that more prominent in society as people rage at those whom they consider the bearer of “fake news.”
Related: Major Layoffs Hit Journalists
Though journalism is crucial to providing society with the facts, those in the media can get things wrong, much like when NPR reported about former Rep. Gabby Giffords’ death after a shooting in Arizona in 2011. The problem with this? Giffords was not dead. What is important is that, in instances like this, the media owns up to its mistakes and runs corrections, NPR wrote several pieces explaining what happened and how the journalists working for the outlet would be more careful with their reporting in the future.
There is no way to completely avoid reading or seeing misinformation, particularly in the digital age, where everything travels faster than one can keep up with it but as consumers of the media, people must be careful about the stories they read and share. The public is only able to stay informed so long as they work to spread the truth which journalists provide.
Society must support journalists. Though there are leaders around the world who wish to silence those who keep them honest, those who force the truth out of situations which may never have seen the light of day otherwise. This is exactly why reporters matter. They musn’t be silenced. It’s hard to describe why journalism is so important without explaining what the world would be without it. In a nutshell, the world would be quite a run-down place without writers doing their work. Democracy dies in darkness if we don’t shine a light on the truth.
Mason collegiettes can support journalism by redeeming their free New York Times subscription here: nytimes.com/gmu