The purpose of journalism: How can journalists save our democracy?

Katie Baneck

kb271219@ohio.edu

Illustration by Katie Baneck

Democracy and journalism go hand in hand. Democracy relies on the watchdog function of the press and the free flow of information that journalists provide. The press is a vital part of a democracy.

The political climate in the United States is increasingly polarized every day, and we can see the fuel behind that fire when we turn to certain media outlets. Yet, the future of our democracy relies on how journalists move forward. 

Journalist Margaret Sullivan from the Washington Post brought up an essential point in a piece she wrote about how democracy can survive in the United States. For democracy to begin to heal, journalists must start celebrating the heroes of our democracy. 

Often media outlets run stories about the 'villains of democracy' or stories about how our democracy is falling apart. To start healing our democracy, Sullivan pushes journalists to highlight democracy and the people fighting to save it.

Journalists can save our democracy by proving how truly unique democracy is. If journalists show that democracy is worth fighting for, our country will be in a much better place. 

Now all of that is great, but journalists have a lot of other things to fix to save our democracy. With the increasing amount of technology, anyone can create content that looks like news. So journalists have to distinguish themselves from the media. 

How can journalists do that? First, journalists must become more ethically sound and understand their sacred responsibility to the public. Journalists must understand that our democracy relies on their conscience and their honesty in their reporting. 

A journalist's role in our society has changed as technology has developed. Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel describe the modernized role of journalists in their book, The Elements of Journalism. Journalists are no longer here to decide what news people read, but journalists are here to make sense of the news and explain what is authentic. Journalists also have to continue to serve as a watchdog and bring news to light that the public wouldn't see on their own. 

While in these roles, journalists must also understand how crucial it is to be transparent to the public. Trust in the media is very low, and journalists must strive to rebuild the relationship between journalism and the public.

One thing that journalists can do to repair this trust is to be as open about their role as possible. Journalists must share how they acquired the news and why it is essential to share with the public. In addition, journalists should be transparent about the biases or motives behind sharing the news. Journalists should also be ready to share corrections loudly if there is a mistake in reporting. 

To save our democracy, journalists need to understand their role and the importance of their words. Our democracy relies on trust in the media. For the United States to move forward to an era of stable democracy, the media can not be seen as the enemy by the public. Journalists are here to defend our country's democracy, not detract from it. .