Question: Choose an issue of importance to you-the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope-and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.
Ever since I was a child, something about journalism has interested me. I used to "interview" my relatives about their daily lives and write newspaper headlines to distribute among my friends and relatives. "Laundry Day for the Nuyen Family," "What's For Dinner: Chicken Rice" and "Mommy's Favorite Movie" were among some of the more exciting topics my childish mind devised. As I grew up my passion for journalism never wavered. As I discovered many different forms of journalism my interest only grew stronger as I decided that broadcast journalism was my favorite medium of getting news out to the public. I'm taking a class on broadcast journalism, and I currently report for and produce episodes of my school's news program, Wildcat Weekly. This class has taught me the basics of how to tell a story, stay ethical, and battle against censorship. My classmates and I were practically a real newsroom, if not for the fact that we were also being graded on our work. The realistic nature of the class made it all the more shocking when I encountered censorship in my own show.
I never imagined as I sat through lectures about censorship in the media that we would ever encounter these problems as a school publication. One of my classmates, Andrew, produced a package about a newly formed spirit group, the "Blue Crew" and how it differed from our traditional spirit group, the "Gold Rush." Everyone praised his ability to stay unbiased with his story, never taking a side or suggesting one group was superior. However, when the air date for our show came, his story was mysteriously edited out of the show. I was confused as I walked into class that day, as my teacher explained that the assistant principal did not want that story to air because he was the sponsor of "Gold Rush." He had given her an ultimatum: Don't air the story, or don't air the entire show. I was appalled. Andrew's purpose was not to steer students away from the Gold Rush. He merely wanted to inform the student body of the new spirit group. Even though we were students in a journalism class, I had never seen myself as anything other than a real journalist. The fact that our shows could be so easily censored made me indignant. I felt as if he didn't view us as anything other than silly students that could be manipulated, rather than journalists.
I came to understand that in certain situations, school rules may differ from the general law. Nevertheless, after that day I didn't edit a single story without the thought of censorship in the back of my mind. I strongly believe in the first amendment, and the freedom of the press. One of main factors that drew me to a career in journalism was the journalist's ability to speak the hard facts and educate the public. Without that basic right, the foundation of journalism crumbles. The issue of censorship in the media was something that I didn't think I would worry about until I graduated and found a job as a journalist. However, my experiences with censorship, even just in high school, have opened my eyes to how important it is to maintain freedom of speech in the media.
Your essay is very impressive. I can see how much your passion is from this essay. But perhaps there is something you can do better. I think your intro can be more interesting. Try to use some dialogue or to describe certain scene when you were doing the "interview", and then I think you will truly attract AO's attention. Maybe you can add one more concrete example to your essay, to show how one of your stories amazed your peers and teachers. But those are only my opinions. In all, it is a fantastic essay. You will be a good journalist in the future! : )
PS: Thanks for offering advice on my essay. :D
