As I started to think about what journalism is, I almost immediately asked myself, “Well, what are the origins of journalism? Who were the first journalists and why did they start ‘journaling’…?” For starters, as I look at the word journalism and as I begin to dissect it the word “journal” stands out.
Journalism, like a journal, is a record of a community. It is a concerned record of a community, whether that community is a town, a state, a nation or the world. Members of a community are concerned for their well-being and as a means of self-reflection use journalism to bring about whatever is in the community’s best interest. Journalism prioritizes and sets the agenda for the public as to what they need to know in their community. If members are informed then they can take action and bring about change.
I feel modern journalism strives to bring the community this information in a factual and objective fashion (or at least they say they do). When journalism sways from this it tends to be labeled as propaganda or voyeurism, which perhaps are just dirty words for journalism.
The journalist is not just someone who makes this historical rough draft of its community and then leaves it on the shelf for no one to read it. The journalist has a concern or issue with the community, records the facts that are relevant and important and then publishes them for all to access. In a way journalism is a conversation within the community that is started by the journalist.
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