Now that President Donald Trump has been inaugurated and has begun his work in office, it is time that the American public and journalists themselves remember the importance of the press. As a journalism student myself I am more than well aware of the role I am able to play in society and the privilege that accompanies that role. The press and journalists have always been of importance, holding the government and big business accountable to the public. However in a modern era of social media and a race to have news seen first, accuracy can often be put aside with easy excuses and later corrections. This all must now come to an end and journalism must revert back to the role for which it was intended.
President Trump has repeatedly referred to totally legitimate news outlets like CNN and BBC as ‘fake news’ and ‘crooked media’. At a news conference prior to becoming President, Trump was even openly discrediting these news outlets and refusing to let them ask legitimate questions. When our news media is so blatantly disregarded and is repeatedly and continuously attacked, especially by the man that now holds the highest office in our country, there should be immediate cause for alarm. This is not a matter that should be swept under the rug. The press is there to question Trump and his government, they are supposed to be asking the hard questions because it means that they are doing their jobs and getting the answers for the public.
The press is often referred to as the fourth estate of government. They are present to hold all offices of government accountable and make sure that they are answerable to the people. This makes the press a crucial entity in the workings of any democratic government that is answerable to the people. President Trump repeatedly attacking the validity of the press to undermine their necessity and importance in government goes against the very foundations of what we as a country believe in when we think of as government.
Without the press who should the people rely on for news? Certainly one cannot think we should trust any politician to be upfront and honest and just tell any person on the street what is actually going on behind closed doors. Politicians do not have the stereotype of being dishonest for no reason. Journalists dig deeper into the story. They ask more people more questions. They have developed trusted sources and contacts whom the average person may not have access to.
So the next time you hear a Trump supporter talking about how crooked the media is and how they report false news, remember how important journalists and the press actually are. They work to bring you information that they believe you need and try to keep your government honest and accountable to you. The modern era of social media and the race to be the first has brought issues to media, one of the most being inaccuracies that editors later fix with ‘corrections’. However this is all a byproduct of the age in which we are living. People want everything now and the media has to keep up to that demand, with which comes errors. If we want change then we have to ourselves change. Slow down, start consuming the news again instead of just catching the headlines, and remember that the media just like the government work for the benefit of the people.
