Pioneering journalist Helen Thomas.
At a time when we’re all constantly lamenting the loss and curtailing of major news organizations, it’s nice to see evidence that great journalism still wields incredible power for change. Of course, this means calling out horrific injustices, so these aren’t happy stories in and of themselves; they do, however, speak to the importance of good reporting. A University of Kansas journalism student simply listed facts on her Facebook, all backed with sourcing, to show just how wrong Michael Brown’s shooting in Ferguson, MO, really was. Other, professional reporting on Ferguson has been rife with heroics. And Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s astounding Rolling Stone piece about the pervasive rape culture at the University of Virginia forced the school to confront the issue they’d long ignored with a Board of Trustees meeting and to at least momentarily suspend all fraternity and sorority activities. It has also prompted protests at the fraternity house where the article’s central alleged gang rape took place.
Long live the Fourth Estate.