Just over a month ago, a horrific shooting perpetrated by former student Nikolas Cruz, rocked the halls of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
On Sunday morning, CNN’s Brian Stelter invited one of the Parkland Students to be a part of his “Reliable Sources” broadcast. Rebecca Schneid, who is the co-editor-in-chief of The Eagle Eye (the student newspaper at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High), spoke to Stelter about the role of journalism and how it differs from the role of activism in public discourse:
“Journalism is a form of activism,” says Rebecca Schneid, co-editor in chief of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School newspaper https://t.co/oYDZGyzlTq
— Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) March 25, 2018
“I think that for me the purpose of journalism is to raise, you know, the voices of people who maybe don’t have a voice,” Schneid explained. “I think that in its own right, journalism is a form of activism.”
The dictionary suggests that the two have very different definitions, however:
journalism – the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news or of conducting any news organization as a business.
activism – the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political orother goals, sometimes by demonstrations,protests, etc.
Schneid advocated using her platform as a journalist to “raise the voices of people who maybe don’t have a voice” – but she gave no indication that she would do the same for the voices that do not promote the same goals that she believes are important.
Throughout the segment, Stelter made no effort to challenge or correct Schneid’s assessment.