Journalism is the work and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that inform society to at least some degree. That is the lose definition of Journalism, but in today’s attention deficit disordered society it seems that the so called journalism outlets don’t even inform to some degree anymore. Real investigative journalism has slowly but surely disappeared from our “news outlets” and sources. The newspaper has all but died and the TV news media is known to be purposely misleading. So what brought about this change in journalism?

First, we can look to the invention of Television media. The invention of television media changed the news landscape forever, as it was the first system that allowed national news to be broadcast daily and obtained by the audience faster. This meant that newspapers had become obsolete as the reporters for a newspaper would often take weeks to months to run an article into a certain issue, versus a TV reporting on it in a matter of days. Viewers want news as fast as they can get it, and will settle for the source that gets it to them first. The fatal flaw in this system, however, is that the Television news outlets make more profits based off of views and in the competition of getting views have left real investigative journalism behind. Most TV outlets have moved to running stories on a 24 hour cycle, often running half-investigated or just not investigated reports on current events in order to achieve their view quota. Many news outlets have even resorted to using a red banner reading “Breaking News” on the bottom of all their reports regardless of the actual time of the event, and other cheap tactics signaling their desperation for views. Another matter is the corruption of the news itself being reported. Television outlets and the internet have a wide spectrum of bias. Television Medias are owned by an individual, leading to the reporting of misinformation and the outright lying or invention of facts to suit that outlets personal agenda. The news no longer operates for the people. It now operates to control the people.

Second, is the decline of the Newspaper as a source. When is the last time you read a newspaper? Or even saw one for that matter? The internet and Television media have all but made the paper version obsolete by taking not only their readers but also their financial backing. Advertisements largely fueled a newspaper organization, but advertisers are withdrawing their backing in order to put their advertisements onto the big screen and internet. The New York Times Company’s shares slid below 5 dollars per share, around 2009, and threatened to close the Boston Globe. Some newspapers have retaliated by going viral and posting their papers online in order to keep up but are still finding difficulty to be seen by readers as the internet has a competition not encountered by the printed spectrum.

Overall, the greed of having quick profits has proved to be the demise of real journalism. All the news sources used today like television or internet could still be used as a great source of journalism but not if it is only driven by a greediness for money. Allowing the death of this great profession is a gigantic mistake that cannot happen, not just because of the jobs or revenue but because of the effects the job has. Through journalism and the hard investigating of its workers, big corporations and 1 per-centers misdeeds have been cast into the light of the public and led to their downfall. True investigative journalism reports the truth, based on facts and not profits, serving to stem the currently growing corruption within our society. The death of investigative journalism will give corporations and 1 per-centers the power to operate with impunity from the eyes of the people and the justice system. I welcome the opportunity that investigative journalism brings to the American people, It brings the power to demonstrate when its corporations and government fails us. If we let journalism die, we have failed ourselves.