Brave New Journalists

The next generation of journalists and fighters for social justice will do just fine, thank you very much, if the skills and attitudes of several Roosevelt University students I chatted with Wednesday night are any indication. Being middle-aged, I find that quite comforting, because sometimes those of us who’ve been fighting for truth and justice for years feel alone.

The chat was moderated by Peter Fallon, PhD, assistant professor of journalism and experienced journalist. The students in his course on alternative media had plenty of questions for me and fellow blogger Aine MacDermot (also at Silent Lucidity and The Citizen Journalist).

Look at what they’re blogging about:

• Child Market: News about child prostitution and trafficking. It takes courage to cover this issue, because it’s sordid and tragic. Now, my degree is in journalism and I spent 2 years in the early ’80s as a newspaper reporter with dreams of being the next Woodward or Bernstein, but given my personal history as an abused child, I couldn’t handle doing regular coverage of this student's topic. That’s why I’m so impressed at this blogger’s fortitude.



• Healthy Bodies: The fight for universal health care. This topic is one I’m obsessed with, being a full-time freelance copyeditor who has several times come close to not being able to afford health insurance for her family. I’ll be watching this blog.



• Mama Nature: Global warming. Reading entries here, I spotted a fascinating—and frightening—one about how in the United States, more members of ethnic minorities are exposed to pollution than whites are.



• Media Future Universe: How bloggers affect the media and how we’ll get our news in the future. There’s news about electronic media, copyright law, bloggers as members of the media, and citizen journalism.



• News Snobbery: Newsworthy issues, as opposed to celebrities’ doings. Good stuff about what the media should be reporting on.



• Newsworthy 02: News analysis. I especially liked the entry about who decides what’s interesting news.



• Regulating Regulators: Federal Communications Commission news. I haven’t thought much about the FCC since my J-school days, but what this agency does affects us all, journalists or not.



• Render Unto Caesar: The disappearing separation between church and state in the United States. Great writing and analysis here.

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