Journalism is not simply a profession. Journalism has a responsibility to the public as an information provider and government/corporate watch-dog.
There are so many journalists whose articles I read, that make me feel pity for them. They are complacent. They are nine-to-fivers, with no hunger for truth. Their passion died long ago, sucked out by the long-growing apathy inflicted to humans in a consumer society, or stomped out by their corporate publishers.
Something stirs inside of me, beckoning me to push forth into journalism, and raise it from the ashes, or at least find a haven where journalism hasn’t died completely. These publications do exist, but they are difficult to come by.
Reality is a factor. Journalists need to eat and live, just like any other human being, and that doesn’t come cheap. With the downsizing in the industry, and the “journalism is dying” fervor sweeping the industry, it becomes even more tempting to settle down with any journalism job you can claw your talons into. Then complacency strikes. Next thing you know, you’re retiring, having worked for the same publication for 30 years. It’s a possibility.
I don’t see this as my future. I see myself learning the finer points of the art from Cambrian’s program (ran by Bill and Erik, two intelligent and talkative journalism veterans), tweaking with my writing as an amateur working for a small to medium sized paper, and eventually moving up to a large paper, potentially in America or Europe.
Truth be told, I would love for my career in journalism to lead me into being an author as well, but that looks to be far over the horizon at the moment. Rest assured, the sunbeams are finding their way over the horizon, faintly, but noticeably.
Journalism is not meant for people without passion. It’s meant for people who want to shoulder the burden of being a truth-teller. Journalism is not just regurgitating facts, it is showing us our own humanity in a mirror, for better or worse. Journalists have to seek the truth, even if it leads to scary and unfriendly consequences.
Call me an idealist for portraying journalists as heroes, but that’s what they should be. Modern day journalism looks more in line with the corruption in society than the truth-telling, and that is not where it should be.
It’s easy to name-drop when it comes to the ideal journalists; Ed Murrow, Hunter S. Thompson, John Pilger, Noam Chomsky, Malcolm Gladwell. Not all of these men are responsible for hard-hitting political or social pieces, some are just phenomenal feature writers. These men show the diversity of journalism, and its ability to appeal to a wide variety of readers. I hope to see a revival in solid journalism, but am unconvinced by the apathy of many of the coming generations (my own included).
Dare to dream. Dare to hope. Dare to create.