Journalism of the Founders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Journalism of the Founders - Essay Example According to the paper  truthful reporting leaves no scope for adding opinions, lest it be called yellow journalism. But, the journalists and editors too are part of the society. They have a responsibility to highlight the wrongs, illegal activities and excesses being committed against the society, by some powerful people. Going through the articles it is more than apparent that American Revolution was indeed influenced by the writings at that time. In fact, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that the writings developed the urge in revolutionaries for freeing themselves from unjustified occupation. Thomas Jefferson aptly acknowledged the contribution of Tom Paine for his critical role in ‘propelling the American colonists towards independence from Great Britain’. Journalists too are human beings and they too have political leanings.This study highlights that  history testifies that, there have been numerous attempts to make use of the newspapers and media on p ure political considerations, but the impact have never been so high as to bring about a monumental change. This shows that the journalistic writings alone are not considered the final statement of truth. In fact, carrying through such imaginary and untenable arguments has become much more difficult in today’s times. Publications like the ‘Journal of Occurrences’ and Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ and ‘Crisis’ provided a window of hope to the people oppressed by the colonial powers. Such publications were used as discussion forums by the people.... Such publications were used as discussion forums by the people. Comparing such publications with the present times led by the IT era, blogging seems to be the forum for people to come out with their opinions/ anger a particular set of people and circumstances. The major difference being the speed for information exchange and the number of people whose views can be accommodated on the pages. Earlier, the information used to take days/ weeks and months to travel from one place to another, but the internet has made possible the information exchange at a speed of light. Though the media landscape has undergone a sea-change since the times of the American Revolution, yet the basic concept remains similar. In today's media rich environment, journalism, the profession, has acquired newer dimensions. Be it the coverage of war on Iraq and Afghanistan or the hidden camera sting operations, more value addition has taken place in the traditional form of journalism. Adverse circumstances appear to be the basic breeding ground for journalistic excellence. Duri ng the occupation of American land, the French and British soldiers exhibited outrageous behavior and resorted to brutalities against women, which led to simmering discontent, further fueled by the writings from the likes of Tom Paine, Sam Adams etc. This had definite contribution towards shaping the revolution. Journalistic writings have the ability to read pulse of the people, and after gathering the realistic feedback, the writings help in generating a debate amongst larger section of masses. Not only the printed publications, but any media with a mass appeal like poets, writers, journalists, singers, drama