Ch.9 Conversations, Not Lectures

(FUSION)

When reading Chapter 9 this week, I came across a paragraph that I felt strongly about in the book. The main idea of the section was that the Internet has created opportunities for the public to comment, influence, and create their own journalism. This means that,

"Journalists can no longer view themselves as the sage on the stage," Emerson College journalism professor Janet Kolodzy notes. "They must step back, step down, and team up."

I am apalled that journalists would say that "the news is what I say it is". What? Since when are journalists above everyone else by telling the world the news? Journalism means, to me, sharing with OUR world the news and even shedding light on stories that may bring justice to the citizens of the country we live in. I have never thought of a journalist as a "gatekeeper", controlling exactly what people see and hear. The whole job of a journalist is to bring the people the REAL news, showing exactly what our world is like, even if we don't want to see it. Journalists don't have the right to control what people see, they are citizens as everyone else is. Journalists should share the news with the people, and have people share stories with journalists. Journalism should be a conversation with the people, not a lecture.