When Did Journalists Become the Enemy?

Weiler Harmon
wh675216@ohio.edu/weilerharmon8@gmail.com

My generation has seen more changes in the field of journalism than anyone ever has. There is no longer a uniform definition of journalist. Gone are the days of getting news from one medium, or one source. Journalists are not 'gate-keepers' for our society anymore, but are instead portrayed as manipulative criminals of truth.

Although the cries of 'fake news' have erupted in the last few years, I could not help but wonder if it really went 0 to 100 this quick. Has society's stance on journalism shifted more gradually than this administration would make us believe?

Well, according to The Ferndale Enterprise, "The 'fake news' mantra is not unique to our current “commander in chief.” In this small town, we’ve heard it for years — as has any other small town editor in remote locations around our great nation. For the most part, we’ve been amused by the desperation of those who echo it.

As illustrated, smaller local papers have been dealing with rumblings of "fake news" for decades, but these voices were silenced until the last presidential election. Obviously local papers have a more rural audience, one that usually leads towards the conservative end of the spectrum, so once this audience finally gained a voice, they were sure to make up for lost time by attacking the very people that (in most cases) provided them unbiased news their whole lives. 

(Photo: Charlie Daniel, Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel)

As a child watching even the local news, I saw my hometown journalists as celebrities, heroes who made sure we were all in the loop. Now maybe it's because I'm older and less naive, or maybe because this anti-press rhetoric has subconsciously affected my opinions, but I do not see a halo on journalist's heads anymore. But, I also do not see red horns protruding form their skulls. 

Maybe putting so much trust and confidence in journalists in the first place is what led to this war on free press. After all, there legitimately is more 'fake news' than ever before, but using one big brush to paint the entire media canvas is unfair and wrong. It can be hard to not bark, or bite back at someone who constantly condemns your work, but it is a skill that journalists must develop now more than ever. With someone as powerful and as manipulative as our current president aiming to divide the people and the media, journalist must learn to bite their tongues when it will benefit them. This does not mean they should not defend themselves, but lashing out at our president has only led to greater issues.

Americans need to remember that journalists ask the questions that otherwise would not be asked. They tell the stories that otherwise would not be heard. They talk to those who, without that journalist or publication listening to them, would not have a voice. The Arizona Daily Star explained, "At a practical level, we journalists sit through boring government meetings and learn about public school financing formulas, so you don’t have to." That alone should illustrate the sacrifices journalists make in order to provide the people, whether it be locally or nationally, with information that they need in order to make informed decisions in their daily lives.