Expectations for Class, Myself, and Journalism At-Large

            Ultimately, I want to become a long-form, investigative journalist, and cover political-, economic-, social-, and public policy-related issues. As a journalist, I would be driven to satisfy two responsibilities, both in the interest of the public:

·      First, functioning as an informer, I would be obliged to provide the general public with accurate and substantive information on public affairs. This means relaying individual experiences of the human condition, and also placing those anecdotes in a broader context.

·      Second, in an adversarial role, I would be compelled to monitor power, which would entail holding those in powerful positions — business, elected, and/ or bureaucratic officials — accountable via shedding light on individual and institutional instances of injustice.

Thus, I would be operating under the assumption that information, story telling, and transparency are public goods — individually important yet inextricable goods that are crucial for a functioning democracy.

            Ideally, I would like to work independent of the very few, huge media conglomerates — six of which own nearly all print and broadcast publications. It is becoming increasingly apparent that these conglomerates do not operate independent of those in power: these large media corporations not only share the same economic interests as other profit-driven entities, but — relatedly — the current economic model of news production dictates that reporters treat news as a consumer product, and thus rely on cheap, accessible, profitable material — material that powerful elites are more-than-willing to provide for self-interested reasons. As a result of this model, journalists within these organizations are often pressed to produce news from the perspective of powerful elites, which curbs their power as independent monitors. I would thus like to work outside of this model, however idealistic and improbable that may be.

         However, if I am unable to secure a position as an independent, investigative journalist, I would like to obtain a vocation as a media watchdog — in either a think-tank, a non-profit research firm, or an academic institution. While journalism — as an institution, as the "Fourth Estate" — carries the crucial responsibility of holding those in power accountable, it is arguably just as important that reporters and media outlets are called to account as well. Indeed, as activist El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) noted, “The media is the most powerful entity on the entity on the earth.” Thus, it is not only important to analyze and critique the practice of reporting, but it is also vital to interrogate — and maybe even challenge — the conventional theoretical underpinnings of journalism.

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          In this class, I hope to gain and sharpen some of the skills necessary to thrive in the roles described above. I am excited to begin learning, writing, and reporting in all capacities.