Who needs Journalism?
As much as I criticise certain practices of journalism and media outlets, we need them.
Journalism is supposed to mirror humanity. Newspapers report on what humans and nature does. How do we know that journalists are getting it right? How can we know that they are telling the truth?
Our relationships with each other and the trust we put in our governments and the rules they make are based upon them doing the right thing. We trust our partners and friends and our governments to do the right thing. When they don't do what we expect, it lets us down, and we feel betrayed.
Newspapers and journalists have a job that sets them apart from most of us in society. They set out to tell the truth about matters. Few of us will tell the truth if it hurts or inconveniences us or our loved ones. Newspapers have a tradition of exposing and telling the truth. They also have a history of lying, covering things up and not reporting on matters if it sets them or their views in a bad light.
That's one of the major problems with newspapers. They should not have a view. But the reality is they do. Almost every newspaper today takes sides and puts forward their views. Therefore, they should not be trusted.
However, we still need them. Newspapers can't be trusted 100% of the time, neither can anyone on this earth, but they are necessary. Imagine a world without newspapers and journalists. Actually, you don't have to imagine, just look at certain countries or read George Orwell's 1984.
I hate thinking that for every story I read in a newspaper I have to fact-check it. But this is what needs to be done if you want to find out the real truth of a story. In a previous article, I suggest several methods. Should a reader have to fact-check a story?
We need journalism to be as accurate as possible. There are several groups around the world that are trying to make journalism better and more accountable. The Society of Professional Journalists is one. A few media outlets have set up training centres for journalists, like the Journalism Trainee Scheme by the BBC.
The ABC in Australia has a program that lets people know how their government works. Who Runs This Place? Which, "explores who has real clout in Australia and how power works and how it is changing."
Things like "Who runs this place?" is one of the things that journalism can do for you. For instance, in their program The Lobbyists you can hear how they discover that there are 1700 lobbyists who have security passes that give them access to our elected officials in the Australian Parliament. The fact that there are only 227 members in the senate and the house of representatives, that's a lot of lobbyists. Some lobbyists work for companies who have made donations to our political parties.
It is facts like these that we need journalism for. Good journalism helps hold our democracy accountable. Countries that do not have a free press suffer from a lack of basic human rights. Good journalism can help maintain your rights.
