COLUMN: Freedom, truth – Why we do what we do
So much to say, with only 500 words to do it. I guess I just wasted 12.
I have been meaning to write a column like this for a long time. The pressure of the final paper of the year finally got my fingers dancing on the keyboard.
It’s amazing how much you learn in just a year. It’s even more amazing how much can be learned in three. After writing my first profile article for The Statesman about the Service Center, I never imagined I would be the editor receiving the letters and having to deal with the plethora of problems that can come from working for the press.
But after three years of joys and turmoil, I still get a kick out of seeing my name in print. That isn’t the only reason, though, that I love being a newspaper man.
The freedom of the press finds itself in the First Amendment of the Constitution – right up there with the freedoms of religion and speech, two freedoms I’m sure everyone can relate to. I never realized the importance of this choice the founding fathers made until I landed in the middle of it.
The power behind the press is unmatched in many circles. From simple things like getting parking ordinances changed, to affecting elections at the highest levels, information found in any newspaper has the ability to influence everyone. And while many only see this manifest on CNN or Dateline, the forum provided in print can’t be underestimated or forgotten.
This potency isn’t only found in the news and opinion sections, however.
Other pages of the paper, sports and features for instance, tell stories about people and activities everyone can relate to. While the news is important, the rest of the each issue of the newspaper offers stories about the substance of life – the reasons most of us get out of bed in the morning, from basketball to basketweaving.
Sometimes I wonder if what we write is even being read – maybe everyone is only looking at ads, or maybe the headlines weren’t catchy enough.
That isn’t the case one bit.
The readers never fail and are always willing to let us know what we are doing right and wrong – mostly the latter. This could be what scares many journalists into watching our backs, but sometimes it is the reason we try to push buttons, so everyone else is watching their own.
I promise, though, at the end of the day, our only real purpose is to tell true stories and to tell them well – with the gusto and facts to make people care.
Now, as I move on to the Salt Lake Tribune, I only wonder where this freedom will lead me. Will a story I write make the difference it could or will it fall on blind eyes of those who don’t care?
It’s a big, scary world, but I’m excited to continue in the path I have started. Hopefully, my time at Utah State University will help me tackle anything that lies before me.
A big thanks must be given to the readers who make the real difference by acting upon the truth being told. And an even bigger thanks to my professors, colleagues and wife who have each helped more often than they know.
Jacob Moon is the editor in chief of The Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to jacobomoon@cc.usu.edu.