In the leviathan of the machine that is democracy, journalism is the cogs that keep it turning. It allows the people the knowledge they need to make informed decisions, it keeps politicians and corporations honest, and it broadens the perspective of the public by telling them the things they need to know. A journalist is an individual that puts his or her life aside to seek out truth- and reports it, whatever the cost. It's a noble profession worthy of only the truly dedicated.
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| So make sure you tie your necktie really well. |
That's what it should be. But reality, unfortunately, is no mirror for perfection, and it is clear that today reporters are less the white knights than they are the grunge-churning peasants. Today, we see the creeping return of the guiding principles of old: sensationalism, partisanism, yellow journalism. This decline of quality journalism does no one any good: the public loses it's faith in the media, the media loses it's respectability, and journalism declines.
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| Of course, the decline of some newspapers isn't necessarily a bad thing. |
Take the recent paper by the New York Post, which splashed a horrific photo of a man seconds before he was run over by a subway. Obviously, a terrible tragedy- both for the man, and that the Post decided to print such graphic filth. But
what have other news organizations done? Publicized the Post's poor judgement, essentially spreading it's corrosive influence farther than the fringe newspaper could ever hope to do on it's own! This is a travesty of what journalism should be and an embarrassment to the industry.
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| Honestly, they shouldn't be allowed to walk around without their heads in paper bags. |
So that's where journalism stands as of now. A once noble pillar, battered and cracked through the ages. Budget cuts threaten to cripple the industry even further. But there is hope- journalism will always have hope that new and idealistic reporters will return the news to it's former glory. That's the kind of individuals that journalists need to be. And it's my hope that it's what they return to. Until next time.
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| Stay classy, blogosphere. |
