AI: Understanding through information
Journalism - where art meets science.
What do Piers Morgan and a photojournalist have in common?
They both strive to make sense of this wild world that you and I take part in.
No need for long definitions. It is the study of truth and reporting on it. The end of journalism is fundamentally to give lived experiences and understanding to enrich us.
“A smart person learns from his mistakes, but a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others.”
It is akin to a man living many lives, through the doors of books and newspapers, he teleports, lives and learns momentarily. When I close a good book, if you know me, you will know that part of me feels sadness because for a brief moment, time stops and I enter a world, where I live. Every time, these experiences carve me, just like reality does. A great book or a great newsletter can give you two or three years of wisdom; reading about history through books like Sapiens, or the current conflicts of the Israel-Hammas war, I begin to understand why people are the way they are, bringing to light my ignorance. This broadens my consciousness, the state of being aware.
And you might have guessed it - journalism is important.
Whether it is painted on a cave in Lascaux, written on Papyrus, or typed to form a book, or on the latest Piers Morgan show or simply a photo, they all serve to better understand the world. Journalism extends beyond BBC’s 10 o’clock news. In fact, surface-level journalism is poor journalism. Religion, history, poems, literature, documentary, art or social media can all make sense of the world as well and better than the 10 o’clock news - so long as they attempt to find truth.
I have put ‘attempted’ in italics for a key reason - to emphasise that the pursuit of truth is an ongoing, often challenging pursuit, that is rarely objective and constrained by the availability of data. It is a science.
Just like science, journalism is built upon the shoulders of each other. Bill Gates was able to build Microsoft partly due to earlier developments in computing by pioneers like Alan Turing. Similarly, Nellie Bly’s exposé on the conditions of mental asylums in the 19th century established the modern practices of investigative journalism that opened the gates for investigative uproar like Watergate. She is now known as the godmother of investigative journalism.
Journalism, as it broadens our consciousness, is the key for us to make better decisions. During the Haiti earthquake in 2010, reporting on the earthquake recovery efforts guided global aid and policy decisions more effectively. It doesn’t just serve us collectively but also individually, as we make decisions about our careers, health, lifestyle and projects. It informs us as citizens of the economic climate, what to invest in, and who to vote for. Be cautious then - you will become the average of what you consume. Filter what is exposed to you and be intentional. When you switch on the TV, instead of flipping to the first program you find, find a show, film or channel that is correlated to your interests and growth.
The word 'journalism' evolved from 'jour,' meaning 'day,' and 'journal,' a record of daily events. I do not want us to get stuck on this daily recounting of facts. The Roman Empire razor tells us that historians now recognise the Roman Empire fell in 476 - but it wasn't acknowledged by Roman society until many generations later. If you wait for the media to inform you, you'll either be wrong or too late.
Most often the media step over the pound to take the penny. I prefer journalism to attempt to tie stories to universal truth and relevance for the next years of your life. From all the stories I’ve read, listened to and watched, I remember a few - only those that made me realise aspects of the world and shook my worldview. That is good journalism. On the other hand, journalism that plays on fear is poor journalism. We are loss-aversive creatures. Losing £5 will affect you more than winning £5 and the media makes billions from this fact. It is your responsibility to surround yourself and your close ones with good journalism.
Keep yourself well-informed and surround yourself with people you can trust.
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