Journalists are some of the most important people in the world. They are the reason we learn what’s going on across the nation and globe and fight to spread the truth to the average person. Without journalists, our eyes would have goggles and we would blindly believe everything our leaders would tell us. Since the early 1900’s, journalists have helped shape how the United States takes on change, for better and for worse. According to the History of American Journalism, “Yellow Journalism” was coined as “a time when many determined journalists exposed corruption in government, the unfair treatment of factory workers, and the privileges of the upper class.” These journalists were called “muckrakers” and their stories helped create new food and labor laws that are still important today. The corruption of big companies were revealed as well as of the government. Till this day, journalists are using the same principles they did over one hundred years ago to spread the truth, for the good and the safety of the people.

In a time where the importance of proof for reporting news is bigger than ever, the relevance of the story of Stephen Glass’ fabrication becomes even greater. The 2003 film, “Shattered Glass” gives a dramatic look into the fall of a major journalist after having to admit to fabricating many of his stories. With Hayden Christensen as the lead, we take a look into the arrogance and weakness of Stephen Glass that eventually brought him to his downfall. This film deals head on with real-life issues as well as the importance of ethics in professional journalism. While looking into the the complicated life of Stephen Glass, as a viewer, you can’t help but get addicted to understanding his complex mind and why he is the way he is. This film is definitely one to watch.

Alan Pakula’s 1976 film “All the President’s Men” goes deep into the investigation by the two journalists, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of the infamous Watergate scandal. This movie was made after the book with the same name. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman star in the film as Bernstein and Woodward. Watching this film in 2017, this film has all the charm of a 70’s film, while getting down to its true purpose of unraveling Watergate. With the real life scandal itself only happening a few years prior to the release of this film, this film did an excellent job of laying out all the details and painting the difficulties both journalists had to deal with while trying to uncover President Nixon and the numerous others involved. This thriller is a must-watch, especially for the history buffs that want an intimate look into the uncovering of this scandal!

“Spotlight,” a film by Tom McCarthy stars big names, Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton. The film is set in the early 2000’s, discussing the The Boston Globe’s “spotlight team,” that writes investigative articles. Ruffalo, Keaton and others making up the spotlight team take on and try to uncover a 1970’s case of a child molestation case within a Catholic church that soon became hushed as the priest was released. This drama is filled with constant ups and downs of the spotlight team, trying to obtain justice for the children that were victims of the Church. Mark Ruffalo is phenomenal, as his character shines throughout-this could be one of his best performances yet. This film brings an unfortunate true story into audience’s faces, digging deep into the root of these horrific crimes. “Spotlight” is definitely a must watch, especially for those who appreciate the integration of real life crime into the big screen.

The importance of news outlets has never been higher. With our own president attacking all media outlets and the buzz of “fake news,” there is a heavy trust issue with all news outlets. Today, reporters and journalists have to work harder to back everything that they say, to avoid having a “big, orange finger” pointed toward them, discrediting everything they report to the people. Even according to the Morning Consult Survey, the Hill reports that “thirty-seven percent trust the White House versus 29 percent who favor the political media.” How can this be, in the Trump administration? Well, as Hasan Minhaj said in his Correspondents dinner speech, “Maybe it is because we are living in this strange time where trust is more important than truth.” In a journalist’s point of view, these statistics should not be the case as it is a journalist’s job to gain the public’s trust in their work, while reporting the truth. However, there is good that comes from the friction between the two sides. Big news outlets are forced to report the news in the most credible way possible, which is a very positive thing for the American people. Readers are learning who they can trust and are starting to regain their trust back with certain companies. Journalists will be kept at a high standard to follow an honor system, that keeps them in check with the values of journalism, while the people will be able to get their news without worrying about reading or hearing false information.

“Life offers more, in Sycamore.” Sycamore, IL is known to be a small, quiet town to all who’ve been. A town where everyone knows everyone and people have a lot of faith in their neighbors. In 1957, a 7-year-old girl named Maria Riudolph was kidnapped and murdered. For years, the search for the culprit had gone on and on until 2012, when there had finally been enough evidence to lock up 77 year old Jack McCollough. One of his sisters had informed investigators of their mother accusing Jack of being at fault for Maria’s kidnapping and killing while on her deathbed. With that accusation, the case was reopened in 2008 and then convicted in 2012. State’s Attorney Richard Schmack looked at the case once again and felt that with new court ethics rules placed in 2015, that McCullough was unfairly convicted. A testimony from his high school sweetheart, strengthened his alibi, saying that she had seen him that evening, while a psychology professor stated that the other child present, Kathy Chapman would in no way be able to identify the kidnapper after 52 years. In Ann O’Neill’s CNN article, there is a look into the exoneration of McCullough. “Evidence beneficial to McCullough was buried, ignored, and perhaps concealed deliberately, he found” said O’Neill. This adds to McCullough’s case. Since McCullough was given the certificate of innocence, he will obtain compensation for every year that he was in prison. Devastated, the Riudolph family believes that this decision is an injustice; however, McCullough is finally free. The law states that those shall be “innocent until proven guilty,” yet some say in McCullough’s case it was “guilty until proven innocent.”

While living in the land of the free, we as Americans have been given all the opportunities in our lives to do and say what we please. Our media follows this to the largest extent, especially recently with the newest election of our 45th President, Donald Trump. With all the allegations spreading of every politician known to man, “fake news” has become a more and more common problem the world wide web has caused us. Even though we’ve all been taught to watch where we get our information from, fake news has become a huge issue as more and more sites have started to post fabricated news articles. Clearly, people are not too happy that they can’t believe everything they read, and many are writing to the Federal Communications Commission about it. Kaitlyn Tiffany writes on “The Verge” about these peoples arguments and whether or not people believe that sites such as Facebook and Google should censor themselves. In her article she talks of Jonathan Peters and his release of these complaints. He says “that consumers think “fake news” is a problem the government should be responsible for solving, no matter where it occurs,” while other believes it is unfair for a big company to block whomever they choose. While this the fight against “Fake News” has caused a lot of stir in the country, only time will tell as to what restrictions will come from these complaints.

United Airlines has become the bud of the internet’s jokes with its recent actions causing the giant company to get roasted by the public. On Sunday, April, 9th, a Kentucky Doctor was headed from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky. United had randomly selected passengers to get off the plane right as it was to take off in order to make room for the crew members. Dr. David Dao was not willing to leave; therefore, was physically dragged off the flight by aviation officers. With the convenience of cell phones, this altercation was filmed and posted on all social media. Outrage became rampant across the country and people were quick to blame United. The airlines CEO has been trying to fight the media and backtrack, attempting to please the public, but it isn’t working as United stocks are sinking. After watching the disturbing footage, you would understand why. The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board points out this major flaw in United’s ability to have put the customers first. While it’s difficult for crew to always make the best decisions when having to deal with angry customers, this was clearly a wrong one. First, the airlines should have not overbooked the flight in the first place, or should have been willing to completely refund these passengers and get them a new flight as soon as possible. Now, the company is dealing with the harsh words of the public, while a possible lawsuit that could cost them millions, especially as Dr. Dao faced many physical injuries. Like the editorial board says, this will not be an easy fix, as this isn’t United’s first problem. It’ll be interesting to see how the CEO takes on this damage control.

David Farenthold, a Washington Post writer discusses in his article of how a Univision anchor used social media to find a missing Trump portrait. Enrique Acevedo is a late-night anchor for the Spanish-language network. Not a fan of Mr. Trump, Acevedo used his points to pay for stay at the Trump National Doral Miami resort to find this painting, as he didn’t want to spend his own money on the room.  It was through twitter that Acevedo had read about this wonder and how it could be found at the resort. While the painting had originally been sold to Mr. Trump through a charity event held at his own hotel, it turned out that he bought the painting (for a whopping $10,000) with his own charity’s money. Since many believed this went against the law, the painting was kept in a hidden location. Acevedo saw through trip advisor that there was a spotting of the photo at the Doral Miami resort, so took matters to his own hands to find it. Of course, near a lower bar at the resort, the painting was hung. Under it wrote nothing of its buyer, neither Mr. Trump’s name, nor the Trump Foundation. To spread his discovery to the world, Acevedo took to the social media site Twitter, as a way to end this journey the way he started it.

If you live on Planet Earth, then you very much have heard of the newest U.S. President, Donald Trump. His voice seems to rattle countries worldwide, using only 140 characters on the famous social media app “Twitter.” Washington Post’s Christopher Ingraham, writes  in his article discusses the leader’s incredibly consistent time (or abuse of) on the social media application.

“Between Jan. 20 and March 31, the @realDonaldTrump account published 357 tweets. Nearly 60 percent of those tweets contained an exclamation point!” Ingraham writes.

This article breaks down the use of the exclamation point in Trump’s tweets, comparing them to his predecessor, Barack Obama and his less frequent use of twitter while as president. He even compiles a list of every tweet said by President Trump with an exclamation point since Jan. 20th. While this article was meant as comic relief to something that may seem so harmless, in reality, these tweets are a representation of our country. Ingraham even points out that legislators believe that his “tweeting habits” act as a liability to the country. Even though he promised to stop tweeting at one point in his candidacy, it looks as if he never will. Will we become the United States of Twitter?