Journalism Matters
This week, the Penn State’s College of Communications joined other universities and news institutions in promoting the #journalismmatters hashtag that has recently been gaining popularity on Twitter.
To kick off the promotion, the College of Communications produced two videos that explain the message behind the hashtag. The first video includes famous Penn State Alumni Lisa Salters, NBA and NFL sideline reporter for ESPN, Mark Lima, who is Vice President of news at the Fusion Network and Diane Salvatore, who currently is the editor-in-chief of Consumer Reports. In the video, these professionals explain the responsibility journalists have to keep the public informed.
“The fundamental process of journalism – gathering information and telling a compelling story – it matters in so many careers,” Salters says in the video.
The other video produced in the campaign stars College of Communications Dean Marie Hardin and focuses on how studying journalism is important for many careers.
“Not everyone with a journalism degree from Penn State will work as a journalist,” Hardin says in the video. “But the skills and values they learn here will serve them for a lifetime.”
The College has set up a Journalism Matters website (comm.psu.edu/journalismmatters) that features alumni and friends of the College of Communications who support the initiative. The website also encourages people to financially support the program.
On Twitter, #journalismmatters is used by people to share articles that address controversial topics, mostly relating to the administration of Donald Trump. As for the Penn State promotion, the College of Communications is using it both to celebrate the success of alumni and the importance of continuing to provide journalism education in the future.
Steph Krane is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism and political science. She can be reached at smk6150@psu.edu.
