Writing for who?

When we vow to be a journalist, we are vowing ourselves to the people. To deliver news to them and be faithful to them. In a way, it is more than a job but a relationship. We don't want our audience to distrust us or not feel comfortable communicating with us. The problem here is that it has become so hard to communicate our message and our voice with editors who want their voice to shine through Or editors that want to change the story so much that it becomes a blur of words and news, but no voice. This past semester I worked alongside editors that were children. They debated and argued with writers instead of building a relationship with us, the writers. They changed our stories to the point of no recognition. It was no longer my story being published. Working in that space made me hate all the reasons I loved the job and the vow I took.

What I did learn is Freelance. Working with different editors allows me to my writing in different perspectives and learn. It gives me the liberty to write about what I want and what I think is important for the community to inform themselves about. It is my chance to take my future into my own hands to fail or succeed. I am writing for me to allow my readers to know who I am who they can trust. I am a journalist for myself first because once that occurs, I can genuinely be a journalist for the public.