I have just learned, however, that there has been, in my opinion, an escalation targeting The Media. Student journalists on campuses to which they attend school have been doing yeoman's work in covering the scene and, especially, the militarized crackdown that have been going on this week. But I have heard a case out in Los Angeles where counter-protestors have singled out -- and I repeat, singled out -- a single reporter who is trying to cover her campus. I don't know why or toward what end that harassment is supposed to achieve, but (and I'm not going to list what happened here, but the lengths these people have targeted one specific reporter) it is really, really pissing me off. The Media isn't perfect, but a fundamental aspect of journalism is documenting what is happening as things are happening. To not allow reporters to do that by picking on them -- and it does matter to me that these are student reporters -- is, on a fundamental level, cruel and, if this is some sort of organized tactic, deeply disturbing.
This also takes me back to my decision to pursue journalism as a major. I wanted to be a play-by-play guy, and I thought when I was going to college that I needed to be a journalist in order to do that. I have realized way, way too late that commentators come from all walks of life. A lot of them have day jobs, in fact. Wish I had known that; I may have gone after a more lucrative degree instead. However, I believe in facts and truth, and that it is worthwhile to chase after it. Unfortunately, throughout my time in college, I have seen how difficult it is to pursue fact-chasing, true journalism, if there are people who don't want that truth to be known. And it is has gotten readily apparent in recent, oh, decades that there are extreme lengths powerful people will take to keep the truth hidden, up to and including going after The Media itself.
I guess that is one of the major factors that lead me to not be a reporter, to be honest. I don't know if I have the strength or the will to push back on those who hide the truth. And I don't know if I would be afraid to do my job if I got harassed in the middle of a public protest like what happened in L.A. No ... I have to take that back and be honest: I probably would be afraid, and I probably would back down. And maybe, to tell the truth, that is why I'm not a journalist.
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With that being said, I sometimes get tired of being this afraid, even if this is a hypothetical situation I have been removed from even thinking could be real once I got out of college. See, there is this comment section for an article about the protests at the U. to which I really, really want to give my two cents, which has to do with protestors refusing to talk to reporters. There is nothing brave about being a laptop cowboy giving a hot take. But if I don't, I really feel as though I'm letting people in The Media down, and I want to do something in response to what I read happened last night in L.A. This is courage to me, pathetic though it might be.
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