I feel as though I should preface this post by saying that I am not a journalism major. I'm an English major. This class isn't required for me to take, but I decided I wanted to take it because I found it to be a class on an important facet of American culture and politics, a piece of America that is currently in turmoil.
I don't have much experience in journalism, as my education career in English has mainly focused on poetry and the publication field. Journalism is a very specialized field of writing, one with a special skillset and rules that I largely haven't practiced. Despite this, I feel as though it is at least my duty to be knowledgable about journalism and how it operates in American culture and politics. I feel like being aware of what is happening politically is something important to me, and journalism is a factor in politics that I am not super knowledgeable in. I want to know more not just so that I will know how to be a journalist, but so that I can recognize good and bad journalism, so I can recognize what things journalists should focus on, so I can understand how to recognize misinformation or biases.
Even if I don't pursue a path in journalism, it will likely always be a part of my life and the culture I take part in. When so much of what I understand, when so much of what makes up one's perception of the country and world is journalism, I feel like it is not only beneficial, but critical that I understand it.
