Modern journalism has opened all sorts of minds and consequentially platforms for people to express their thoughts. This allows for the individual to voice a thought, to have an opinion and to express the desire of change for the betterment of humankind’s existence. It is the key to unfolding what centuries of prior rulings did not: the power to state the truth fearlessly (Parrottryan, 2006).

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We are meant to know more than just our immediate surroundings and this ensures that we are not just the part of our own world but instead a part of the whole world. It sheds light on the things that we as all human beings should fundamentally know i.e. basic rights, what the government of our country is doing, and other globally pressing matters such as war and climate change.

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Journalism’s fundamental is to be objective, truthful and entirely independent of influencing factors. Papacharissi (2009) states that journalism is enabled by democracy’s highlight on free will, freedom of speech and collective decision-making.

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Power lies in tearing human minds apart and putting them back again in a shape of one’s own choosing (Orwell, 1949). And if in a democracy there is something that holds this power, it’s clearly the fourth estate.

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Let’s take the example of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff. While the Titanic is vastly remembered not many know of the sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff, the largest maritime loss of life in history. It was torpedoed by the Russians during WW2 and was kept hidden and out of the headlines by the Nazi regime (Sepetys, 2016).

 

To this day, not many are aware of the Wilhelm Gustloff, very unlike the Titanic or the Lusitania. If we look back at the example of Mark Antony and his downfall, it was false news that gained Octavian victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra (MacDonald, 2017).

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Journalism’s role is to no longer only report objective truth but now journalism is what writes history.

 

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Bibliography:

 

MacDonald, E. (2017). The fake news that sealed the fate of Antony and Cleopatra, The Conversation: Academic rigour, journalistic flair. Available: https://theconversation.com/the-fake-news-that-sealed-the-fate-of-antony-and-cleopatra-71287 [Accessed: 28th April 2019]

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Orwell, G. (1949). 1984. USA: Signet Classics.

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Papacharissi, Z. (ed.) (2009) Journalism and Citizenship: New Agendas in Communication. UK: Routledge.

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Parrottryan. (2006). “What is the role of journalism in society?”, enotes, Available: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-role-journalism-society-641945 [Accessed: 28th April 2019]

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Sepetys, R. (2016). Salt to the Sea. UK: Penguin Books.

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