Power of Media

With the coverage of Hurricane Katrina greatly affecting the president's approval ratings, exposing the truth about poverty, environmental issues and racism in the U.S., and causing the government to change its story (and hopefully its policies), much attention has been given to the power of the media. The Columbia Journalism Review Daily online has had three great articles this week detailing the experience of reporters covering the aftermath of Katrina. They detail the will and passion of journalists under great pressure to get the story. Tonight I watched a show on PBS about the broadcast vs. print coverage immediately after the assasination of JFK. It was another account of the great work of journalists at times of panic, terror, and under great emotional strain to do their jobs, to wrench the truth from the madness.
I'm at a crossroads in my career. I've been stuck in administrative jobs since college. However, when I was eight, I declared that I wanted to be a writer. When I was 14, that evolved into a journalist. After reading CJR Daily's articles, seeing the special on JFK, and revisiting articles in a book detailing young journalists' strides post-9/11, I am certain that I want to be in the field. I believe that good journalism works at exposing truths that are essential for the public to know. Hard journalism is often a catalyst for the people and politicians to make change in the interest of common good. I want to do that with my life.

Links:
• CJR Daily: "The Times Picayune: How They Did It," "Embedded with the Times Picayune in New Orleans," "In New Orleans, Everyone's a Critic"
• Amazon.com: At Ground Zero: Young Reporters Who Were There Tell Their Stories
• "JFK: Breaking the News"