Often, when asked the question of "What are you going to school for, what is major and why?", I've received many looks of either disbelief, or simply "You won't make any money doing that," or even just the usual "Why?"
Well, my reasoning behind wanting to be a broadcast journalist and pursue a career in this very demanding industry is not for the cliche' reasons that many may think. No, I don't want to be a journalist because I want to be famous and/or just want "TV time," the "limelight," or to be the next Kardashian. No, I don't want to report the news to get the chance to fabricate stories and change the views of the entire American population (ahem Brian Williams).
Ever since I was in the fifth grade and I took a field trip to the CNN World News Center in Atlanta, Georgia, I can honestly say that I knew I wanted to someday have my voice heard through mainstream media, in one way or another. It wasn't until I finally entered college and began really researching into this thing called a "mass communication degree" -- and yes, you read that right, there is no "s" at the end of "communication" -- that I had a newfound understanding and passion for what people in this field actually do.
Often nowadays people, especially on social media, will confuse the job of a news journalist with that of a politician, or a law official, or even a reality star. To put this into context, I mean that people are quick to "blame mainstream media" for everything that they see. What is upsetting is that people don't realize that it is the job of a journalist to report if there is a crime or riot, or any other tragedy taking place, just as they report the good happenings (which they do!).
It is the job of a journalist to report these events, just like it is the job of a doctor to save lives, a firefighter to save property, or a police officer to save the community. The only difference in this job is that is it is the job of a journalist to tell and save the truth. And for me, it feels natural to be pursuing a career in a field that is constantly striving to say what is truthful and what is right.
