These words were presented to a room full of Journalism graduates at UC Berkley by none other than Barbara Ehrenreich, a multi award winning journalist.
To those that argue journalism is dead, I feel you do not understand the term adaptation. While the traditional idea of journalism might be long gone, it is alive and well in other transforming capacities.
Journalism is so much more than a person telling others about an event. The romanticism that caused me to fall in love with this profession is rarely discussed.
We, as journalists, have an intrinsic motivation of finding and presenting truth at all costs. It is about putting aside personal biases and morals to ensure the words you write fall on trusting ears. It is about being held accountable by an audience that relies on your skill and intellect.
While so much of journalism is personal, so much more of the process relies on an understanding of what your audience needs. It is about predicting, researching and meeting a need.
People, not even just those of older generations, rely on the vernacular of educated individuals who know how to present the information in ways that they can understand.
It is unrealistic to say that journalism will always be print, and I am not one to say it should remain traditional, what I am saying, however, is that regardless of the means people access news, journalism has been and always will be relevant.
Journalism was and is just as much about preservation as it is about putting life into words. It is about giving an internal heartbeat to individuals that have long since perished.
To stand out and be exceptional, personal evolution is more than vital. Understanding that relevancy lies more in the skill we utilize and the people we know who impact our breadth and, as much as I hate to use this word, ‘popularity’ among an audience will soon become the forefront of focus for aspiring journalists and writers.
To those who claim journalism is dead, I suppose in a way I agree with you. Tradition is dead. That is not difficult to see in today’s world of non-conformity. However, the idea of journalism, the spark in the heart of every aspiring news junkie such as myself is alive and well.
Journalism is not obsolete. I am not obsolete. Do you want future generations to remember you by the words of your Facebook page? Or by the words of the dedicated reporter slaving hours to ensure their words pose true?
The words our generation are our legacy. This is why journalism still matters and always will. Journalists hold the means to impact the perception of our reputation. I hope for the sake of myself and others that 100 years from now, I will not be lumped in with the social media users that use ‘idk’ or ‘lol’ as an expression of the intelligence of this generation.
