What is journalism for?

As an aspiring journalist, this is a question we all have to ask: what IS journalism for?

As much as my comms211 teacher may deny it, the traditional form of news is undoubtedly fading. I sorrow in this as much as any other reporter might. It is simply nowhere near as satisfying to see your work published on an internet site as it is to see it printed on a bundle of papers 15 inches wide by 22¾ inches long.

Newspapers may die, but journalism never will. It’s true. As long as stuff is happening in the world, journalism will always be there; maybe not in the form of a newspaper, but still there nonetheless.

Now, moving away from the rant for the ever present need of journalists, I believe the question we began with could use a twist of rephrasing: what impact does journalism have?

That my friend, is the unanswerable question. Yes it’s true; journalism is a source for the minority to be heard. It’s also a way to heighten a society’s awareness of local, national, and world-wide issues. It’s even a mechanism for featuring the unknown granny in your neighborhood who donates thousands of dollars to the homeless puppies and kittens.

BUT - what is journalism doing? There’s no real way to know. Stories, of any kind, are written to make an impact, and sometimes to infuse a change. Occasionally we can see that affect, but often, we can’t. An internet site may be able to track how many people have visited and where they were from; but it can’t tell us what that person did after they read that story, got up from their computer, and went on with their life.

So, what is journalism for? I don’t know about you – but I sure haven’t the darndest.

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