When I signed up to be a communications major my freshman year of college, I knew what I was getting into. People asked me if I was prepared for lack of jobs, a lot of criticism, and more. These days, it seems like everyone is criticizing the media, especially during these really difficult times.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak took full force in both Europe and the United States, I realized how important and impactful the media is. A journalist’s mission is “to allow the public to be free and self governing,” meaning giving the public information and letting them make their own decisions about it. A lot of people are saying that the media is “making everything worse” or “blowing things out of proportion,” with this outbreak. That may be true to some extent, but the reality is, we need the media. Journalists are essential workers during this time, almost as essential as medical professionals and law enforcement. They are the ones that are providing us with all of the information that we need to know to keep our health and safety in check during this. They are constantly updating us on how things are rapidly changing during this outbreak, and risking their own lives by being in the public.
Similarly, soft news and other types of journalism are important during this time too. Magazines such as Vogue and Cosmopolitan are sharing stories of how to keep busy during quarantine, and are still producing their regular articles with fashion and entertainment news. This type of news has the ability to make people smile, as well as take their minds off of things and give them a sense of normalcy. I know that my magazine here in Worcester is doing a similar type of column for quarantine life, and our chapter of Her Campus is still producing content that is relevant to college lifestyle and online learning. I’m happy to be writing about things that are important to college women as life changes during this crazy time, knowing that it’ll make people smile.
So the next time that there’s a world tragedy, or even the upcoming election, think about what journalists are truly doing. They really aren’t the bad guys. One side, mistake, or opinion does not fit all media companies and journalists. They’re doing what they do for the better of society.