I often get asked why I still want to go into journalism amid the uncertainty of my profession. I won’t deny the facts: Much of the media industry is marred by layoffs, local news is struggling and the Department of Justice recently decreed that journalists can be subpoenaed regarding their reporting materials, reversing a Biden-era rule that protected journalists from having to disclose confidential sources.

In short, it’s not an easy time to be a journalist. But has it ever been? After four years of reporting regularly for The Times-Delphic and Drake Political Review, I don’t think so. Good journalism — the kind with the potential to change hearts, minds and policies — should be difficult. 

I’m aware of the increasingly salient debate over whether journalism can create this sort of change. According to Pew Research, fewer Americans than ever use radio and print publications as their main source of news, though 29% “often” use news websites or apps to access news — still not quite the educated electorate the founding fathers imagined.

That lack of engagement isn’t due to any lack on the part of journalists, who continue to create the heart, mind and policy-changing journalism I mentioned earlier. I know they do because I’ve witnessed it.

In the fall of 2023, I covered Drake’s U.S.-China Symposium, which was held under the Chatham House Rule, an international principle used to encourage open dialogue about sensitive topics. The rule states that the dialogue’s participants can use the information discussed but “cannot disclose the identity or affiliation of the speakers” — meaning that I, as a journalist, could not quote anybody. The symposium’s attendees were so on edge about media coverage that they instructed me to put my laptop away and take notes on paper. My coverage revealed a much more nuanced reality about U.S.-China relations than contemporary commentators portray, and many attendees thanked me afterward.

In spring 2023, I, along with TD’s then-Editor-in-Chief Lia Reichmann and then-Faculty Senate Beat Writer Andrew Kennard, covered why Drake paid President Marty Martin more the same year faculty salaries were cut. We’d been approached by numerous faculty who were frustrated with the situation and had come to distrust administration as a result. After we discovered that the additional pay constituted a retention bonus in Martin’s contract, faculty again approached us to express their appreciation for our reporting. Though they disagreed about the value of Martin taking the bonus, some expressed relief that the bonus was instituted five years prior — before the budget situation worsened. Faculty have since pushed for greater transparency from administration. 

In spring 2024, I and now-News Editor Eve Loehrer received a tip that that year’s Painted Street raffle excluded two social fraternities. In just a few days, we whipped together an article that drew campus-wide attention to the raffle’s host, the Student Activities Board. In response, SAB adjusted this year’s raffle, and every eligible organization that applied received a square. Our coverage resulted in a more equitable model and greater transparency. 

None of these articles were easy. Each challenged my dedication to ethical principles and the tedious process of interviewing, writing and fact-checking. (If possible, I’d like to avoid whittling down 11 pages of hand-written notes into an 850-word article ever again.) But, more importantly, each prompted change — be it individual reflection or institutional revision. 

Independent journalism is powerful, and it’s not going away — be it college journalism, local news or The New York Times. We cannot be replaced by social media, deterred by noncooperative sources or chilled into silence. 

I am proud to call myself a journalist, and I’m particularly proud to call myself a Times-Delphic journalist. To future staff: Know that you’re making a difference, especially when the work is hard. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not worth it.

I say this, too, to myself. As I reflect on my college experience and prepare to begin my next chapter, I remind myself that I’m just one journalist. My hard work — our hard work — contributes to journalistic repository of impactful, illuminating and inspiring stories. I can’t wait to build on this legacy — one story, one truth at a time.