Being a Young (Canadian) Journalist in Trump's World
First off, I'm Canadian.
I haven't been a Journalist long. In fact I only had one job at a radio station reading live news.
I'm currently looking but I won't lie, I'm in no rush - it's not the bright honourable trade I was told. Even great newsrooms have pushbacks and special interests.
That's something I can get past day to day. I went into this career to tell the truth and make a difference (I know that sounds suspiciously optimistic) Integrity is everything to me - I have pride in the little amount of work I've done professionally.
The thing that gets me nervous is the complete lack of faith and hostility towards the media south of the border - Deserved or not.
As a young journalist I can't help but get a little nervous when I see the now President of the United States completely disregard free press and legitimate organizations as "fake news".
The same man also put reporters in special sections while campaigning so his supporters could yell and curse out journalists - many of whom are fresh young reporters with the same ideals as me.
This anger and complete distrust of media is happening all over the world and journalists see it. It's also happening fast.
When I started college and told people "I'm a journalism student" - I was proud and usually was met with curious and interested people. Now, When I tell people I'm a Journalist most people say things like "you're not going to work for a crooked organization are you?".
Now, I realize not all media is honest. There are some major flaws in the way events are distorted when reported by different news outlets. This problem is absolutely worse in the US, but it creeps into Canadian journalism daily and more frequently every day.
It doesn't change the fact President Trump would rather tweet in all caps than hold a normal press conference. Or when he has one (two months after being elected) he refuses to answer questions from CNN because of personal bias.
Donald Trump makes the way Stephen Harper handled the media seem tame and even polite.
Right now it's starting to happen in Canada. We are lucky to have Trudeau when it comes to transparency but the tides are turning and the gulls are coming out(Kevin O'leary).
Here's an example of why I'm cautiously getting prepared to be attacked online or yelled at in crowds by strangers while I try and do a job that I want to love:
My Journalism Instructor is a mother of a seven year old and took him to see Justin Trudeau. She was then attacked by a conservative pundit on twitter - here's the link:
This woman is one of the most dedicated and professional people I have ever met. Although she handled the situation as well as I knew she would. It really hits home seeing someone who taught me being attacked for no good reason.
Wouldn't you be a little hesitant to jump right in to this industry (if you can even find a job) while things seem to be on pillars of sand? That's not including the shift to digital media which is a whole other story.
I know a lot of fresh journalists like myself who are not going to back down and be painted with the same brush as Fox News or CNN (depends on who you're talking to at the time).
We all know this - things have never been like this and our skin needs to be tougher than ever.