What is Journalism?

By: Natalie Oganesyan ‘22

As a journalism major and a citizen who likes to stay informed, I’m one of the first people to rush to its defense when both the government and the public criticize media. Like it or not, journalists do hard work that should be valued as both an art and a technical skill. I don’t think it was until I came to USC and got involved in my passion for reporting and writing that I realized how important news media is. That is not to say, however, that the industry (like all other industries) doesn’t have flaws. In this blog post I want to touch on journalism’s merits, its history, and maybe help give you a less negative perception of media.

History

Until the coverage of the Vietnam War, the government and journalism worked largely together to provide information to American citizens. It wasn’t until this controversial war that the tide turned and journalists became the gatekeepers for the government — exposing politicians’ wrongdoings and holding them accountable. From the coverage of the war, the idea of journalism as a tool for upholding democracy and keeping citizens informed was solidified. Journalism further drifted to its role as an opposing and checking force against the government during the Watergate scandal, which subsequently led to Nixon’s resignation, and publication of the Pentagon Papers, which detailed the circumstances leading to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

Merits

Despite all the negative perception of the media and the public’s declining trust in news outlets, journalism — when executed properly — is vital to democracy, the spread of knowledge, and social change. We detail all things from politics to war to popular culture and more. We keep people informed, help check the growth of tyranny, and report on injustices and human rights violations.

Like it or not, we do an important job, and it often disappoints me when people shrug off the entire journalism industry because of a few bad reporters or because they buy into President Donald Trump’s propaganda. Statistically, we are overburdened and stressed beyond belief. The newsroom is in constant commotion — there’s a high rate of turnover with stories because they are time-sensitive and limitedly newsworthy. The high pace and ever-changing environment of journalism can place a large burden on reporters, particularly when it comes to mental health. Reporters that cover the front lines, war zones, and humanitarian crises suffer PTSD, depression, and anxiety at the same rate as combatants. Journalists at home, when covering serial killers, fires, natural disasters, and similar emotionally heavy and dark events, often suffer from mental illnesses.

What’s even worse is that the job never stops. News and breaking news keeps happening, and I’ve seen — on a smaller scale — the stress it puts on my own newsroom at the Daily Trojan. My editors and I are constantly moving around, trying to break the news in time as we work on already budgeted stories for the day. In the journalism profession, full-time reporters face much worse. In 2018, 80 journalists were killed. Many more were attacked, assaulted, kidnapped, or jailed.

Room for improvement

Although I love journalism and trust the industry more than I trust most other industries, the profession still needs work and improvement. Diversity in newsrooms is an important issue. Oftentimes, the newsroom and higher positions in news organizations are held by old, white men. Diversity is important in newsrooms because the editors and writers collectively decide which stories are important enough to disseminate to the public. If all people aren’t represented, then all stories won’t be told.

Journalism, like any other industry, is also primarily motivated by economics. Newspapers, broadcast stations and all other media need money to operate. Although I understand the need for a focus on capital, I wish news outlets were more so motivated by the stories they wish to tell the public. The whole point of journalism is to serve the public, not serve ourselves.

Journalistic excellence

To me, journalistic excellence means that you abide by moral and ethical standards before you stand with unjustly manufactured capitalistic beliefs. When you read a story that has you holding your breath or when you read a story breaking an investigation into a large injustice — this is what good journalism is. Journalism has the power to move people and change history by calling for accountability. It helps prevent our society from becoming like Winston’s in 1984. It preserves our humanity and speaks to our collective experiences.

Support media and the fourth estate, make sure you fact check your news (especially if you get it from social media), and don’t listen to the president when he calls negative stories “fake.”

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