Journalism has a lot of power and influence with the public. Journalism wouldn’t be what it is today without previous muckrakers and activists paving the way. It is important to look back at history to understand how it has shaped journalism.

I believe one of the most important roles journalists can have is setting the agenda, like Streitmatter said in Chapter 17. We have to look at people how journalist have set the agenda in the past. Although journalism has its’ own news values (timeliness, oddity, prominence, conflict, human interest, impact, proximity), it is important for journalists to decide what they want to report and talk about as well. What they choose to report and say can really set the agenda and have an impact on the rest of the journalism, but also the public.

An example mentioned in the book is, how in 2009, journalists were very supportive of same-sex marriage rights. Although I was pretty young, I remember seeing various news articles at the time showing their support on the topic of same-sex marriage. My family would even discuss the topic at the dinner table. I thought it was just very amazing because it really opened up the conversation with the public. It had people talking and really normalized and helped people understand and learn more about the topic. These journalists really set the agenda and helped pave the way for same-sex marriage to eventually get legalized in the United States.

With that being said, it is also important to note how journalists have broken from the pack of other journalists. We need to really look at journalists who have pushed bounds but also differentiated themselves. These powerful journalists also help pave the way for change and impact on the public and the rest of journalism.

Shattered Glass was a good movie overall. It really emphasizes the ethics and values of journalism.

Stephen Glass was a very complex character but I think that the actor portrayed the character well. Because of the stellar acting, I felt quite attached to the character. In the beginning I really liked Glass, he was charming and intelligent, but as everything unraveled and went south, I really felt embarrassed and bad for him.

Whereas the character was well portrayed, I wish the movie offered a little more insight and answers to why Stephen Glass did what he did. Why did he feel the need to lie so much and fabricate so many articles? The movie alluded to certain things, but never gave a very clear answer to that.

I believe that Citizenfour was the best and most accurate portrayal of the Edward Snowden story, in comparison to other Hollywood remakes. Snowden (2016) seems lack luster in comparison to Citizenfour.

Citizenfour was good at portraying the character of Edward Snowden himself. I believe that America often sees Edward Snowden as a bad guy, a snitch/ whistle blower. However, this documentary tends to stray away from that depiction of him. The movie portrays him more as someone who is thoughtful. He explains his decision making processing, showing that he contemplates between what he thinks is right and wrong.

There were times where I had to remind myself that it wasn’t just some made up story, but something that really happened. Citizenfour was very thought provoking in the sense that it really gets the audience to think about their security and privacy. Citizenfour was brilliant.

I’d like to start off by saying I usually don’t like older movies and All The President’s Men came out in 1976. Going into the movie, I thought that I’d dislike it and find it a drag but I was proven wrong.

I believe that All The President’s Men portrays journalism accurately. Hollywood usually glamorizes these types of movies and make them action-packed and unrealistic. However, I think this film stays true to what journalism really is. It’s not always 100% intense. A lot of it is waiting around and being patient, working at investigating and looking for evidence- slowly putting pieces together to stay true to the truth. However, the film did have its dramatic and thrilling moments too. I think the film portrayed the Watergate situation in a very unique way. The actors really portray their characters well and brought the Watergate situation to life. Great movie.