I want to start this piece off by saying this: this is an opinion piece on a relevant news topic. I am taking a side, which is why it is an opinion piece, and any facts will be linked to a source. My recent political articles have gotten a lot of hate, so I wanna clarify my stance before I begin writing.
This week, President Donald Trump claimed in a tweet that the media is the true enemy of the american people. Now, as a junior in college pursuing a degree in journalism, this obviously had me very upset and worried. What is the future of the career that I have spent so much time working towards if our current President is doing everything in his power to fight it? Furthermore, how is it that I have spent three years studying about journalism and the media, and the history of it's benefits on society, but it's being pushed aside as "fake" and the enemy? What about factual reporting is fake? Yes, it does appear that a lot of news organizations are skewered against President Trump, but has anyone stopped to wonder if maybe that's because he has done some things that are impossible to report on in a positive light? Take for example, the fact that yesterday he claimed there was a terror attack in Sweden the day before that hadn't happened. CNN wrote an article about it, and it was completely based on facts and actual events, and it does sound skewered against Trump. But how are you supposed to make a false claim of a terror attack sound like a good thing? There comes a time where even unbiased reporting sounds biased, and people need to realize that reporting the truth isn't "fake news" just because it's pointing out the flaws of our President.
Also, even Republicans and conservative news sources are taking a stand against President Trump's view of the media. Senator John McCain has been very vocal in his stand against Trump's policies, and defended the press, saying that suppressing it is the beginnings of a dictatorship. Furthermore, Fox News also stood up for the media, with anchor Chris Wallace warning viewers that the President crossed the line with his latest comments. Not agreeing with President Trump isn't a sign of hating conservative ideals or hating Republicans like people claim. When conservatives and Republican's themselves are standing up to the ideas being presented, then that shows that the problem is much bigger than a person's political views.
So what can be done? Well as I've mentioned before, I plan to keep fighting. I plan to use my writing to influence those around me, whether it be through opinion pieces like this one, or through actual news reports. I have always believed that writing is the greatest power, and that with it the world can be changed. The media is not the enemy. We are simply people who want to tell the stories of the world around us, and to try and make sense of this crazy life. Whether you're a reporter for The New York Times, or an anchor for Fox News, or you're a college student writing for The Odyssey, we are all on the same team.
