Justice for Journalism

Growing up I always pictured a journalist as someone who sat at a desk all day writing stories and articles about, what I considered, boring grown-up topics. However, journalism has influenced all different aspects of today’s world in its own way, including the journalism job description itself. Many teenagers and young adults in today’s generation stress the idea that “newspapers are slowly dying,” so there “won’t be any jobs available”, but that is far from the truth. While many may not read the same newspaper that was in black and white and thrown on your porch every morning and afternoon, aspects of newspapers are still everywhere in today’s world. Many individuals today still read the old-fashioned newspapers every morning. However, others may get their information from somewhere else like their news app on their phone, the television, or the community website. Technology has definitely advanced into a different and new form of displaying information. Newspapers, though, will always be looked upon by the public as a trusted source of information that provides jobs and information for the communities.

Phil Gianficaro, a trusted journalist, has traveled all across the east coast reporting on sporting events, national events, and even the aftermath of the Holocaust. Phil grew up in a small town. Every day Phil and his father would wait outside on the porch for the daily newspapers. He always wanted to read the sports column, however, his dad made sure he read the headlines and some paragraphs on the front page before skipping everything before. This slowly blossomed into Phil’s love for journalism over the years. The impact of a single newspaper changed Phil’s entire life, however, it is much more than just writing an article for a newspaper now. Phil described the importance of journalism as, “stories that must be told in order for history to not repeat itself.” This line in particular was striking due to the NEED for these stories to be told.

Journalism brings a certain light of honesty and integrity to the community, reader, and writer. Being a journalist comes with the responsibility and obligation of providing the public with the right information. Jobs in this field have expanded from the office desk to going into the real world and experiencing things firsthand. Ashley Williams, another trusted journalist, has been able to travel around the world for her job. After switching her major in college to broadcasting and growing her skills with extra years of grad school, it had all paid off for her. For the next two and a half years after college Ashley was able to travel all across the east coast and even to England.

Journalism may be looked upon by some as “dying out” or “no need” for it anymore. However, the advances in our technology and acquiring information can and will never change the true trust that newspapers have originally set into place for people of all ages. The journalism field has advanced along with the source of where the information comes from.