‘A journalist is someone who investigates, collects and presents information as a news story. This can be presented through newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the internet. Journalists are relied upon to present news in a well-rounded, objective manner.’
I thought I would take a slightly different direction for today’s post. Recently events in the media have caused me to really focus my mind on what kind of future I want in my career.
As a journalism student, I have been studying global media and how it is controlled, told to keep an eye on the news and tested on how up to date I am on current affairs in the past year. We’ve been advised to take interest in the goings on in the world and to boldly pursue matters outside of our course that interest us. There are some of us obsessed with sport, in particularly football, who have aspirations of becoming sports journalists and others who are keen on a career in fashion.
I find myself finding it hard to find my feet because of the media. It sounds silly but I went with a gut instinct of wanting to write, research, photograph, film for a living and the first degree that popped out to me was journalism. But now, a year into the course, a course i truly love, I feel nervous about one day graduating into the world of media. Simply because it seems so negative.
The ability to manipulate words gives journalists great power over how to grab their audience, the descriptions given on online articles, ‘click-bait’ articles and mind-numbing ‘celebrity’ sections have somehow become classed as news. Gossip columns get read with fervour. We have become so nosy about people’s lives, offering up our opinions and intruding people’s privacies for the sake of gossip and pay more attention to these than trying to fix the wrongs of the world by educating people more and taking a keen interest in spreading positivity and equality.
I suppose one of those things about being 21 and still young, naive and never really been in the workplace, is that i’m filled with some sort of optimism to create change in the media when I go to work someday. I would love to be a writer of positive stories only, sharing the joys of the world, but I know I will have to face the negative side of media one day. For instance, the recent shootings in America have really grabbed my attention.
The idea that someones’ skin colour, country of origin or sexuality could play a part in giving someone the belief that it is okay to degrade this person or even murder them- I just cannot grasp. I cannot believe that now, in 2015, when we have all these laws on equality blossoming all around the world, that people are still hating someone else on something they have no control over! We have no say in who our parents are, what skin colour, sexuality or gender we will get or what country or culture we are born into! And for that to be the reason why someone can hate you enough to think you are below them, needs to be eradicated.
Especially in the media. I find it boggling that the media will throw around the words like ‘terrorist’ or ‘thug’ about certain perpetrators of crimes, but will refer to others as ‘religious’ or ‘mentally ill’. We’re all human. These words need to be interchangeable about us all. A man, whether he be white, black, mixed race or from any part of the world- if he goes on a shooting spree, murdering many and terrifying many more, he is a ‘terrorist’. He has caused terror.
Similarly anyone around the world can be religious or mentally ill, and these words need to be used properly, to address any person who with legitimate research has these factors in their life.
There are many religious fanatics around the world who operate on racism and ridding the world of the people who don’t believe like they do- this truly needs to be removed. These are the people who throw us back in time, they do not help humanity at all. They poison the joy of humanity with their dark, outdated thoughts. It is now 2015, we need the media to put us all in on a level playing field when being reported about.
As someone who aspires to be a journalist I have to admit I will enter this job with a little trepidation. My words will hopefully be read by many and I hope to inspire positive, loving and fair thoughts onto the public who read my work. We are all the same mix of genetic material with amazing differences that need to be celebrated the world over. I sometimes find myself wishing I had been born into another culture of some sort so I could see and be part of those traditions, and I truly love being at university because of the way it tries to bring out the best of everyone’s cultures!
Stay positive out there!
S x
