The current state of journalism is actively moving towards a reformation to mimic its heroic roots.
There was a time, decades before today, where journalists were not hated. Believe it or not, journalism used to be a highly respectable job among most of the nation. That image is hard to imagine nowadays. What once used to be a profession dedicated to factual event telling has digressed into proverbial exaggerations and spit-balling, leaving readers polarized and dismayed.
Do not misinterpret what I say, however. Among the right circles, and the right publications, you will experience that reminiscent feeling. Society’s progression into an entirely digital, social media focused conglomerate of thoughts and opinions has tainted the ability to obtain unbiased information. It is 100% feasible and doable to consume incredible journalism every single day, the problem of the last decade is knowing where to look.
I sense the tide changing. The last four years of controversial headline after controversial headline has created a more divided and, quite frankly, misinformed public. Without pointing out vindicated examples, I ask you to look back on your observations. How many arguments do you get into? How many of those times do those arguments result in a battle of which source is more reliable? I’ll bet a lot.
The fact of the matter is the American people want to know what the hell is going on. They don’t just want to know the surface level stuff. They want to know the ins and outs, the behind the scenes, the corruption, the secrecy. Only one thing is going to give that to them and it’s proper journalists.
There are a lot of shady shenanigans happening right now, whether we truthfully know it or instinctively sense it. Whether you think President Donald Trump is lying about his COVID-19 treatments or former Vice President Joe Biden wore an earpiece and wire during the debate. Whether you want to be aware of it or not, there are things unannounced to the public. There always have been.
Classic, heroic journalism has uncovered some of the government’s worst wrong doings. Watergate was the work of several Washington Post reporters. The New York Times uncovered unwarranted domestic spying under Bush’s administration in 2005. Heroic journalism doesn’t even have to be done by a classically trained journalist, such as Edward Snowden uncovering NSA in 2013. The list could go for miles.
Now, more than ever, people are turning back to journalists. COVID-19, foreign policy, the presidency and the election are as tumultuous as a raging sea. Without good journalism we would be lost.
If you’re in the camp which firmly believes all journalism is lying to you, or you conveniently think every piece of reporting that contradicts your opinions is fake, I want you to know that you are whole-heartedly misled. I don’t mean this antagonistically. I want you to prove me wrong. Proving me wrong would be good journalism.
We have astounding journalists actively uncovering the truth. If you read something that makes you uncomfortable, don’t simply disagree with it and move on—dig deeper. One universal truth behind heroic journalism: What will be found out will not sit right with you, and you won’t want to believe it. Sometimes the truth hurts, I suppose.
There is a lot that we don’t know, especially today. There is a lot that we probably won’t want to know once we know it. There is one thing I know, however. It’s going to be the journalists who figure it out. They will be the heroes of this story, just like they used to be.