Let me be real for a second. 

How do I, as a junior in high school, know what I want to do as a career?

As of right now, I would like to have a career in journalism or photography. I’ve looked at multiple colleges in Kansas, and I think I have my heart set on where I would like to go. 

However, I am worried about my career choice. 

Journalism isn’t a well-respected profession. And the reactions to the media prove that. 

Ever heard of fake news?

When a well-known and popular figure says something online, people who follow them tend to agree. 

In recent years, society has lost trust in media, and listen more to biased social media influencers. 

Social media and news outlets are the fastest ways to educate people, but they are also the fastest ways for misinformation to spread. 

Writing journalistically requires journalists to balance their stories, quoting the facts and not necessarily getting both sides. 

Both sides may say something different. If one says it’s raining, another says it’s not, I just need to go outside and check.

When misinformation is spread, news outlets are first to blame.

This is why fact-checking is so essential. 

The job of a journalist has multiple moving parts – interviewing, researching, fact-checking, photographing, designing and editing. 

All moving parts must be done on time, and it all has to be clear and concise.

And it’s not just one journalist managing it all. There is a whole team of journalists – videographers, photographers, reporters, designers, editors, and many more. 

Teams of journalists are traveling worldwide to cover all types of news. 

And yet, they are one of the least respected professions. 

It’s disappointing, to say the least.