Community: Reflected in News

Thinking about the construction of inspiration and it being formed on the promise of hope and courage, brings to mind the idea of community. In many ways community can be seen as more than a location but a concept that is built on compassion, unity and trust. Having the opportunity as a student journalist to be able to cover hard and interest news, has brought me to the conclusion that news media exemplifies the concept of community. Although news has the ability to shed light on wrongs, report on conflict and at times may seem to take sides, it is a platform that bonds even the most distant individuals to one another.

News reports give citizens an opportunity to relate on covered topics through emotion. An image based article from ohio.com shared an initiative inspired by the Sandy Hook shooting. Identified as the No One Eats Alone program, sixth, seventh, and eight grade students, from the Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, sat and participated in activities that encourage students to get to know one another better. Efforts like this show that compassionate thoughts have the potential to transform the separation that occurs in community.

It is through the production of international news that individuals can join an accord on morals. The days following the targeted shooting on the Charlie Hebdo staff in Paris, there was immense coverage of the unity march, with many supporting the phase “I am Charlie”. It was the reports of this even, much like the accounts of those in Ferguson after the deaths of several black men at the hands of officers that had the world uniting on causes for freedom of speech and the values of black lives.

News organizations themselves send implied messages through their style of coverage in relation to their role in society. Journalists gather and report news conveying the notion that they work for a news source that distributes truth. Consumers of news media trust that the information that they are receiving is fact. This belief stems from the perceived ethics that journalists uphold their role related responsibility as honest informants, but many know this is not always the case.

Whether the news sheds light on tragedies that eventually spark compassionate hearts to strive for change, unaddressed social issues to be openly acknowledged or an applied perception of truth to be either believed or challenge, it is important to recognize that news media is not just a part of society but an reflection of community. The news community is a place where the struggles of hope and courage are understood and inspiration is born, that spans across color lines, religious constructs, and international waters opening a forum of commonality for all humans.