Journalism is an underappreciated profession

Belen Sassone/ Contributing Writer

The negative reputation the press has garnered over the past year may make it easier for some to pass off media outlets as “fake news.”

Of course, there are journalists who lie and deceive to garner more interest in their stories, but they usually don’t last very long in the field, and they’re definitely not a representation of the majority.

A number of brave people risk their lives daily just to get information delivered to the world. Their loyalty to the truth gets them killed on many occasions, but their deaths are never in vain.

The first journalist’s on-the-job death I remember hearing about was James Foley, who died in 2014 at the hands of the Islamic State. I was in high school and just beginning to truly fall in love with the career that I am still in pursuit of today.

It was a regular day in my newspaper class when the notifications and the awful video of Foley started appearing on everyone’s phones.

The immature high school minds around me focused mostly on the goriness of the video, while I sat there watching his mother and father in agony, imagining my own parents in their place.

As naïve as it may sound, I had never taken into account the dangers of going into places with so much turmoil. The reporters that I watched on TV didn’t look like they were having a great time, but I had never imagined that one of them could possibly turn up dead for doing their job.

Less than a month after Foley’s death, journalist Steven Sotloff was killed.

Although I was shaken up and spent a lot of time reconsidering what I would study after graduation, I ended up finding my way back once I realized that the reward outweighs the risk when it comes to being a journalist.

Instead of seeing two men who were beheaded by a terrorist group, I saw heroes.

Most Western organizations refused to send correspondents to these areas, so without their selfless acts as freelancers, the world would have never known the threat that ISIS posed internationally.

There are thousands like Foley and Sotloff — in Mexico, there have been about 23 journalists killed this year alone, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

These men and women are part of an even longer list of reporters who have suffered similar fates at the hands of drug cartels and organized crime groups over the years. These murdersmany in broad daylightoften have no resolution.

Government data shows that “public servants like mayors and police officers have threatened journalists more often than drug cartels, petty criminals or anyone else in recent years,” according to an article by the New York Times.

This fact has long been disputed by the Mexican government, who claims to protect freedom of the press. However, with the low number of convictions for these crimes, it’s hard to believe them.

Mercedes Vigón, associate professor and associate director in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, believes that when a journalist is killed, “the silenced voice has no sex, civic life dies a little, [and] democracy gets a bad virus.”

During the recent uprising in Venezuela, journalists have been targeted by opposition protesters.

In June, teleSUR correspondent, Adriana Sivori, was among those attacked while covering a protest— her only safeguard was her protective vest.

In a powerful statement, Sivori said, “the word ‘press’ on the helmet and waistcoat stand out more in the dark, and they chose to shoot me.”

It’s no secret that journalists everywhere are disliked by those whom they want to expose. Most officials will never answer a reporter’s questions with a smile on their face due to fear of what may result from it.

When you enter the field of journalism, it’s no longer about you, but about the millions of people you aid when you present the truth.

With the current tense political climate, it’s relevant to look at the journalists who have been attacked in other countries because we could easily be next. We’re living through one of the most intense moments in history, so our voices need to be louder than ever before.

 

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Photo taken from Flickr.

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