Distinguishing the real from the fake in today’s news poses a threat to the integrity of the outlets reporting the stories to the public. When I read the headlines of news stories today, I catch myself dismissing or rolling my eyes at stories for being ridiculous, only to late see the same stories plastered across every social media or news outlet. That’s not necessarily fault of the reporting, but more so of the current world we live in.

I find it dismaying when I tell people that I’m interested in journalism, only to be responded to with, “Oh, all news is fake anyways. You can’t trust anything the media says.” There are still reporters and outlets that hold up the values of journalism, but they are unfairly being lumped with the TMZ-type news that is devoured by society.

I feel that real news has to claw its way out of barricade of tabloids and flashy headlines to reach the public, but even if it gets read by that point, it’s relevance and credibility can get lost. Not to mention there are plenty of powerful people who are discrediting news outlets left and right, making that journey even more clouded.

News today that is worthy of reading is still told in a way that is by and for the public. Many reporters and outlets today might forget that, but it makes finding those true, turn-the-world-on-its-head stories all the more worthwhile.