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.