Being a Journalist Today

In today’s world, journalists are no longer just reporting the news, they are making it as well. Since the advent of television, news reporters have become more courageous about reporting the news than ever before. Having gone from the Viet Nam war, when television coverage was scarce, to now, when we have on going reporting from many war zones and dangerous areas.

What did happen was that the reporters, coming through to us by television, became personalities and celebrities on their own. The world appreciates the people who risk lives to report the truth of world and regional news, and welcome them in to their homes each day.

A generation that has left us became the voices of truth for many of us. Huntley and Brinkley, Walter Cronkite and Roger Mudd are just some of the noted journalistic broadcasters of their time. They were there when the reporting was difficult, like after President Kennedy was shot to the explosion of the Challenger. We came to respect them.

This generation, Daniel Pearl, an American reporter kidnapped and killed in the Middle East last year, Jill Carroll, another reporter currently being held in the Middle East and newly recognized CNN reporter Anderson Cooper have made the news themselves.

Some might ask, why would they risk their lives to report the news? No one is making them go. They are going in search of stories, and they are becoming or nearly becoming war casualties themselves. Is it really necessary to go to such extremes to get the news?

For those who choose it, the answer is yes. They are drawn to it. They understand the importance of clear communication and accurate information. Putting their lives on the line is a personal and philosophical commitment for them. They endure the risks so that all of us can understand and see things that we could not do otherwise.

Journalists have stepped to the forefront of our world. They influence what we know about on many different levels. For some, they have become heroes themselves. They are courageous and committed enough to bring the world news each day. They stand for freedom of the press and freedom of speech. They shape opinions of masses of people. Those are people who deserve respect and regard as the outstanding patriots that they are.

Michelle Davis