The importance of journalism and its crucial role in society

Do you remember the feeling of excitement the night before a snow day? Maybe you woke up at the crack of dawn with your eyes glued to the TV, searching for your county or school district to appear. Local journalism allowed seven-year-old you to stay updated on the changing weather conditions, just like college journalism keeps you informed of happenings at CSB+SJU.

Journalism provides the public with accurate, timely and unbiased information about events and issues going on at both the local and national level. To say it’s important would be an understatement—many consider news media as the “fourth estate” or the “fourth branch of government”.

Walter Annenberg, American diplomat and philanthropist, noted that journalists “have at least as much, if not more power, to direct public policy than do the other three branches, in part because of its direct contact with the public.” Journalists serve as the eyes and ears of society, act as a check on those in power and provide citizens with the information they need to make informed decisions, especially when it comes to policies that directly affect their lives.

Journalism plays a crucial role in society by raising awareness and addressing social issues occurring around the world. Journalism has shed light on range of issues, from the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s to the Black Lives Matter movement. Alice Allison Dunnigan, the first African American journalist to cover the White House, Supreme Court and Congress, wrote extensively about the Civil Rights Movement and made sure her voice was heard in efforts to desegregate and provide equal access for African Americans.

Journalism also focuses on keeping those in power accountable for their actions through investigative reporting. One of the most infamous events in U.S. history, the Watergate scandal, involved the administration of President Richard Nixon. The Nixon administration attempted to cover up its involvement in the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office Building. Two reporters at The Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein noticed that one of the burglars was on the payroll of President Richard Nixon’s reelection committee and started investigating, uncovering several political crimes. Their story led to the resignation of President Nixon and won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for the reporting.

We don’t claim that The Record is on par with major newspapers like the Washington Post or reporters like Dunnigan, Woodward and Bernstein. However, The Record was recently awarded the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s general excellence award, making it the top college newspaper in Minnesota (read more in this week’s news section) and plays an essential role in creating local journalism.

Though informing a smaller target audience than well-known national papers, college newspapers are a public good: informing the student body about local issues, bridging the gap between the administration and students, encouraging institutional transparency, keeping students informed on where their tuition money is going, and investigating stories that might have otherwise fallen through the cracks. In our Opinion-Editorial section, we invite the student body to weigh in and add new and diverse perspectives to our community.

Most importantly, a newspaper like The Record helps to create a well-informed public—an essential characteristic of a healthy democracy. According to the Pew Research Center in 2016, strong local journalism correlates to higher levels of civic engagement and voting behavior.

With the 2024 election approaching, we will continue to cover and encourage students to look into local elections and state races. These are the races that will end up impacting the daily lives of all citizens.

In an October 5th Our View, The Record editorial board stated, “In this newsroom of 19 editors and staff, and even more reporters and photographers, we are constantly working towards publishing articles and columns that better inform the students, faculty, staff at St. Ben’s and St. John’s, the local community and beyond.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves—here’s to another year of maintaining a 136-year legacy of award-winning student journalism at CSB+SJU.