Journalism has played a huge role in the rich history of our country that allowed our current society to develop into what it is today. Journalism is driven by the public’s basic need for information, and we would not have been able to achieve all the advancements we have today without an effective method for staying informed.

With advancements in communication come advancements in technology, and journalism has kept up along the entire way. The public demands an increasing amount of access to news at a faster pace, and journalism provides that satisfaction. It is no wonder why people today have such short attention spans and live such fast-paced lifestyles.

The adapting and bettering of journalism over time also played a large part in ethics and responsibility within the news media. Overtime, the principles of journalism have evolved to the high standards that they are today, because journalists realize the moral duty they have to society that comes along with the immense power they posses. Journalists are essentially gatekeepers of information that must remain loyal to the truth, and these principles have allowed our society to function at the rate it does.

On Sunday, May 7, I watched the film “All the President’s Men.” This movie went behind the scenes of the investigative journalism that uncovered the Watergate scandal.

I really enjoyed this movie; it definitely kept me on my toes. The film was historically accurate, and I ended up learning a lot about Watergate that I never knew. It was full of action, very thrilling and also filmed in a really cool way, in my opinion.

The importance of uncovering the truth through investigative journalism was also demonstrated in this film. Bringing to light the corruption of our government was extremely important, and something the American people had the right to know about.

On Sunday, May 7, I viewed the film “Spotlight.” This film also exemplified the practices of investigative journalism. The plot of this film was something I was familiar with; the child molestations that occurred by Catholic priests in the ’70s, that were largely covered up and swept under the rug.

This movie covered a truly unfortunate topic, but overall, I really enjoyed this film. I think it brought an important issue to light. It just goes to show that even though something may be uncomfortable or controversial, uncovering the truth is always important about issues that the public has the right to know about. Abuse like this follows a pattern, and the film uncovered that this was not an isolated issue, but a recurring abuse of power.

On Friday, May 5, I watched Citizenfour, a documentary film by Laura Poitras, that follows the story of Edward Snowden. He first contacts Poitras through an email with a hidden message, writing under the alias “Citizenfour.” In this message, he presents information about illegal wiretapping done by the NSA that he feels needs to be brought to light through investigative journalism practices.

Overall, this movie was extremely interesting. I had heard of this film before watching it, but never realized how many relevant journalistic principles were present in the plot. It brought to light many privacy issues about the United States government that I never even knew I needed to worry about. Much of this information posed a threat to journalism as a profession, which is why reporting on this topic was strongly discouraged by the government. Similarly, the journalists who covered this story were extremely brave to go after such controversial information.

On Thursday, April 13, I attended the War on Facts panel discussion, held in Gregory Hall. The event featured a few different guest speakers, each with their own angles and stories to tell about fake news and the importance of truth-telling when it comes to reporting news.

One of the speakers was Lynn Sweet, the Chicago Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief. She discussed fake news as it pertained to the Trump administration and Trump’s candidacy.

The 2016 Election was referenced throughout the event, as this was the most prevalent display of fake news (and fake news accusations) in our society. During this election was actually the first time I had even heard about the concept of fake news, and it was also the first time I truly began to question the validity of information presented to me by the media.

Sweet referenced major events, like Donald Trump’s sex scandal, and explained how they were able to be covered up. Even when the these negative issue came to light, distraction techniques were used to shift the blame to Hillary Clinton.

In order to combat fake news, Sweet discussed the importance of truth-telling and acquiring factual evidence from reputable sources. Dishonesty and lack of credibility from the media has been a concerning issue ever since the election, but I was really interested in everything the panel had to say about battling fake news, and it gave me hope that this issue will start to decrease.

News is obviously so vital to our society. Staying informed and having access to news at the press of a button should make us more knowledgeable better decision makers.

However, I have come to realize the content of our news is not always entirely trustworthy, and the advantages I once thought we possessed sometimes end up being more detrimental than beneficial to society as a whole.

During the 2016 election, I heard the term fake news used more than I have in my entire life. Fake news has turned into somewhat of a buzzword, but the negative connotation it holds is representative of the real damage it can do.

For example, Farhad Manjoo of The New York Times recently published an article about the culture Facebook has created where seemingly anyone can be a creator of news, whether or not they are a credible source.

Donald Trump’s campaign benefitted from this environment; the media appeared untrustworthy and he could attribute all his shortcomings to fake news.

The efficient speed we can receive large quantities of news is a blessing, a curse and definitely something we need to be careful not to take advantage of.

In his article written for ProPublica and co-published with The New York Times, Charles Ornstein examines the efforts of the state of New Jersey to revoke the license of psychologist Barry Helfmann.

This article investigates the general theme of protecting the privacy of patients. In the past, Helfmann had been accused of failing to protect the private health information of his own clients.

Ornstein collected information from a variety of sources for this piece. He identified 24 separate court cases in which Helfmann’s psychology clinic sued the parents of children who were minors and included the children’s names and diagnoses.

He looked into federal laws and regulations surrounding doctor-patient confidentiality. Specifically, he cited the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which stated doctors are allowed to reveal only the minimum amount of information necessary if they sue a patient for an unpaid bill.

Ornstein also cited interviews in which Helfmann fervently denied the accusations, and he also claimed such accusations were hurting his reputation and his business.

Additionally, the author cited court cases Helfmann has been involved in. For example, Helfmann sued the state psychology board of New Jersey, claiming they had in fact violated his own personal rights.

Finally, Ornstein followed up with a lawyer who was representing a patient suing Helfmann for revealing confidential information. As expected, the lawyer disagrees with Helfmann’s statements and beliefs.

It is clear that Helfmann’s reckless behavior and disregard for the privacy of his employees is a problem that has persisted throughout his career.

During the morning on Friday, April 7th, I attended the “21st Century Scientist Workshop. The event took place at the Beckman Institute in Urbana, where I saw Rose Eveleth a New York producer, writer and designer, give an enjoyable presentation on design thinking as it pertains to science communication. I really enjoyed how relevant she made this workshop for me. As an advertising major, I never considered myself to be particularly interested in science, but Eveleth’s presentation allowed me to see the creative aspects involved in science communication. I connected with the storytelling aspect of what Eveleth talked about, as it seemed a lot more interesting with what I would normally associate with science and technology. I was really captivated by Eveleth’s speech overall. In order to communicate effectively and have an impact on other people’s futures, you must utilize good storytelling to convince others that your ideas will actually work. In general, I believe persuasion is a key factor and necessary skill to possess for professionals of all trades. It’s one thing to have a good idea, but if nobody believes in you, your idea will never get the recognition it deserves and you will never be given the opportunity to test it out.

On Tuesday, April 4, I attended a lecture covering the 10 most critical factors for startup success. The lecture was given by Tom Dennison, the President of SmartHealth Activator. I found his talk to be very inspiring, and at times, very surprising as well. Dennison was a graduate of UIUC, and it was a pleasant surprise to hear he was an advertising major, given his current involvement in the business, health and technology fields. His career all began with an internet startup, but transformed into a successful business endeavor that put him in the position to help other startup grow in the same way. I was really interested in Dennison’s focus on innovation and invention. They both are related, but very different concepts. Innovation is key in achieving success with a startup, because you have to be able to bring something new to the table in order to make a name for yourself. Dennison was a very impressive individual, and the majority of his 10 critical factors can be very applicable to achieving success in the media-related industries as well.

Promoting diversity is so important within every aspect of our society. On Sunday, April 9, I attended Diversity Fest in the Illini Union, and was very impressed by the multitude of different groups that were represented. The event took place in the Courtyard Café, and gave students of all different backgrounds the opportunity to share a part of who they are with the rest of the school. A student organization put together a fun performance that combined different expressions of art from all over the world, including songs and poetry. The performance was extremely well-done, and perfectly encompassed the theme of diversity; when we take the time to learn about people that are different than us, we gain a unique understanding of important issues that we can use going forward in life. Incorporating diversity into our society makes us better, well-rounded individuals, and I was happy to see these UIUC student’s commitment to celebrating our cultural differences at Diversity Fest.