Jeff Cohen

Jeff Cohen's presentation in class definitely got me thinking about actually pursuing the Journalism career. However, I don't think it pushed me closer to the Journalism path. I am already thinking of working more in the politics and/or policy field, but since Journalism has been my original passion I can't let go of the idea all together, and my passion for writing is still strong. Something that bothered me was towards the end, after Jeff exposed corporate media for the underhandedness of the administration, forcing writers and staff to cover certain events and issues with a specific slant, he told us that it is not a problem taking a job with a corporation. We were told we will still learn a lot and it shouldn't stain our name in any way if we wanted to move over to Independent Media at any point in our career. I have a hard time believing this. Jeff made it seem as if most of what we'd learn in corporate media is how to follow directions on creating a certain bias in our writing and the whole process of taking orders from men such as Rupert Murdoch does not sound appealing. If I was planning on continuing in Journalism, I would want to begin in Independent Media where the Journalists aren't corrupted or in robotic roles. Even though Independent Media might have a more liberal slant than corporate media, it has tackled the idea of fairness much better. I agree with Jeff that there isn't any place for objectivity in media today because of how slanted every side is and the pressure put on reporters to make their bosses look good, or to make their bosses other goods and services look good as well. But Independent Media has the ability to call out both conservative and liberal icons in society. Jeff used examples of independent bloggers covering Obama just as carefully and thoroughly as McCain, a much better overall picture of who each candidate is, much more thorough than corporate media. As an upcoming Journalist, I would choose fighting for a job in Independent Media rather than taking a job corporate media is willing to hand over. My experience, education and overall views would enhance by immersing myself in this medium.