It is the question each student is asked a million times: what are you majoring in?
My response of “journalism” is met with several reactions. Some are supportive, sharing their love of the news; however, most are skeptical asking me if I have a backup plan because, “journalism is dying.”
It is not only fellow students who have questioned my choice. Teachers in the Cox School of Business, where I am minoring, have told me several times to push my minor to a major so I am not left jobless after graduation.
This article is for all you cynics out there who think that my choice to pursue a journalism degree is impractical and useless.
Students in the Journalism Department of the Meadows School of the Arts, or the J School as we fondly call it, receive the same comprehensive education as any other student would at this university. My major may be different from yours, but it is not of any less worth or significance.
Currently, I am studying within three different schools at SMU, yet I have found no greater community than in the J School. It is not cutthroat, but supportive as students encourage each other and push each other to report the best possible stories they can. There is a network of teachers and students that share a common love and see each other as equals, growing together and constantly learning from one another.
I chose a career path, like many of you, because it is something I am passionate about. For many journalism students, myself included, reporting and researching is not simply schoolwork; it is an inbred way of life, an insatiable curiosity, a demand for the truth.
Journalism has taught me to challenge people, to face criticism calmly and success humbly, to search for answers in unassuming places, to use words as tools for change and to understand that every person has an untold story waiting to be heard. These are all things I never could have learned within another discipline.
I am aware that journalists often get a bad reputation for being biased and inaccurate.
What many people don’t know is that journalists are taught from day one to remove their personal voice, opinion, thoughts and ideals from each story (except for opinion articles of course, hence the name “opinion article”). Only the truth and the facts are presented to the public, despite their controversial nature or unpopularity.
This is why journalism is of value. It sheds light on situations and issues that would otherwise go unnoticed. It creates work that not only informs, but also impacts and questions.
Yes, journalism can be sensationalized, but it also can enact real social change. Just look at how people reacted to the reporting of Ferguson. The world actively followed the story that shook the Missouri city each day that, without journalism, would have gone unnoticed by those outside of the state. Despite its controversial nature, the reporting of the events in Ferguson sparked a real, honest conversation about the racism that still exists in some parts of the United States.
There has been and always will be a need for journalism. Without it, the world would go unwatched and the public would remain uninformed.
I chose a degree because it fit my personality and my passions and I hope that each student at SMU has done the same. And just as I respect your choice to pursue your career goals, I ask you to respect mine.
