If you’re reading this, you may be wondering “Why in the world is journalism so important?” That used to be me. Journalism used to be random people interviewing people on the news, but it’s a lot more than that. I was first introduced to the journalism world in middle school, seventh grade to be exact, when I participated in the middle school journalism workshop. When I started the workshop I had no idea the impact it would end up having on me. I was able to learn how journalism at school can not only impact our student body, but also have a large impact on Harrisonburg as a whole. From the community supporting HHS Media with the purchasing of ads to students giving the newspaper to their parents, the things we cover are recognized by the whole community.

As I already mentioned, I was first exposed to journalism in middle school. Obviously, I watched various news sources before middle school, but I didn’t start properly learning about journalism until the journalism workshop. Originally, I thought learning journalism would be boring and that I could never see myself doing it after that workshop. Turns out I was wrong and I enjoy everything about journalism now. The gratification you get from working on a student-run publication and showcasing people’s meaningful stories is on another level. Although many people tend to toss the newspaper in the trash as we hand them out to them, there’s that small portion of students that are interested in the newspaper and enjoy seeing what we included in that issue. That’s what makes journalism that much more enjoyable for me. 

In simple terms, journalism is important to everyone because it informs everyone around us on things that they may resonate with. Journalism can even be about something as small as a bird breaking free from its egg or as big as the presidential election. People may think that joining a journalism class at school is pointless, as we’re just high school students. However, that’s the point. We’re students covering issues in our community and beyond, and that’s what makes it worthwhile for many. Some may argue that all news is false and some argue it’s all true. There’s not a yes or no answer to something like that, as everyone has different journalistic views. Some sources may say that one source is correct, while the other one may say they’re incorrect, everyone thinks differently in this day and age. 

The whole point of journalism is simply to inform people about certain topics. Although some people may not agree with said topics, there are always people who do care and want to know more. Even if something doesn’t necessarily relate to your community and it’s something more widespread, people still may be interested. Without journalism, people would be baffled by the world around them.