Journalism is easy.
Everyone seems to think that nowadays.
As journalists, we’re allowed to make up any detail, spit out any lie and slander any name.
Because we’re all terrible people with no intelligence.
Right?
Well, picture this:
You’re talking to a source for a story. He tells you he ate lunch and got sick.
It’s your job (on the spot) to ask: When did he eat for lunch? How long did he eat lunch? What was he eating for lunch? Did he eat all of it? Did he buy it from a restaurant? If so, where? What time did he feel ill? What made him feel ill? Was it his stomach? Did he go to the hospital? How much was the hospital bill? How long was he in the hospital? Was he scared?
All of those questions and more are simply expected of the job. Not going above and beyond.
The best journalists can think on the spot, know what and when to ask, how to reach a source and write it all in a cohesive narrative by a deadline.
A proper journalist enforces your first amendment– by presenting you with the any and all truths of a situation and leaving you to decide.
Businesses and powerful individuals don’t want citizens to know the full story, or to hear what goes on behind the scenes. They want to remain anonymous in the background while information is hidden and society lays unjust.
Journalists are not bad people.
We go into this profession with the concept of helping people or giving a voice to the unspoken.
Proper journalists don’t carry a malicious vendetta against anybody, they just want society to remain transparent.
One must trust that the true media isn’t trying to discredit facts, but rather do the due diligence of staying up until 3 a.m. writing feature length stories andconstantly calling officials to get the nitty-gritty details all for the sake of a 300-word article.
Avoid the bizarre outlets who feed off of rumors and gossip, as true hard news journalists will put in the effort to report the facts.
At the end of the day, we are all human. We all deserve to know the truth.
It is your right as an American citizen.
Support journalism because you support the first amendment.