Hello, World: What Journalism Means To Me
Most kids grow up wanting to be astronauts, actresses, and presidents. And while I’ve gone through several wayward phases and dreamt up many bizarre aspirations of my own, I have known that I want to be a writer for as long as I can remember.
As early as six years old, I would scrawl short stories on scrap paper and bestow them on my parents like laurels. My imagination turned everyday mundanities into works of fantastical fiction — one of my standout pieces centered on the foods in our refrigerator coming to life and going to war (the protagonist was a raw egg, aptly named Eggy).
I continued composing stories and excelling at English and writing assignments throughout elementary and middle schools. It wasn’t until high school, when I inadvertently signed up for an “Introduction to Journalism” elective, that I realized writing could be more than a trivial hobby or nerdy skill. Through journalism, I could tell genuine stories — about events, ideas, and people — that mattered and impacted the world around me.
It was love at first byline. From there, I threw myself into the student newspaper. I thrust our latest issue upon unsuspecting freshmen in the cafeteria, badgered teachers and coaches for interviews, and spent my afternoons and lunch periods practicing copyediting and layout. By senior year, I served as editor-in-chief and savored every second of it.
Coming to college, I knew I wanted to be a part of another student publication. Even though I started in the spring after some much-needed gallivanting around Paris in the fall semester, the first campus organization I joined was the Daily Trojan. Much like in high school, I worked my way up the ranks and am now serving as associate managing editor for the second semester in a row.
To say journalism is important to me would be an understatement. Participating in student journalism has been one of the most defining experiences of my 20 years; writing has given me purpose and newsrooms have given me some of my best friends as well as a second home on campus. I challenge you to find another student organization that willingly labors away for upwards of six hours five nights a week to produce an award-worthy product daily. Student journalists are the most intense, passionate, and dedicated people I know. I feel lucky to count myself among them.
That is why I am deeply troubled by the threats facing the journalism industry in the digital age and under the current administration and want to dedicate my blog to exploring these issues. Chief among them is the transitional moment we are currently in, as print struggles to adapt to digital platforms. Throw brand-new elements of social media into the mix, and you have an industry grappling with how to stay relevant in age where all their previous practices are becoming increasingly obsolete.
In the same vein, I intent to write about various facets of bias and freedom of speech. With the press being demonized by our own president, it is a question that is now at the forefront of many Americans’ minds. On top of that, media conglomerates are becoming more prominent; for example, media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s company News Corp owns some of the largest English news outlets across three continents, meaning nearly everything we consume passes through an ideological filter before it reaches us. News sources and constantly accused of being too liberal (CNN) or too conservative (Fox News) and catering only to certain demographic audiences. I hope to unpack these allegations and explore their implications.
At the Daily Trojan, we have been involved in a number of controversial situations regarding ethics and legality that I hope to discuss, in addition to referencing pivotal court cases that have informed today’s journalistic practices. From source anonymity to suicide reporting, the field is chock-full of examples of moral ambiguity and touch decisions.
Lastly, a potential subtopic I am interested in is education and media literacy being taught in schools. As our society and online landscape change in tandem, it is essential that we educate future generations to be smart consumer-producers of media and teach them how to properly navigate news in the information age, lest they fall prey to the pitfalls of digital media.
