Stick to the Truth, No Matter What: A Little Reminder for Journalists
A few years ago, I sat across from an old friend at this rickety coffee shop that smelled like burnt toast and cheap beans. He was a journalist — the kind who’d spend nights chasing stories nobody wanted to touch. Mid-sip of his watery latte, he looked at me and said, “You know, the scariest part isn’t writing the truth. It’s what happens when you don’t.”
That stuck with me. And it’s exactly what popped into my head when I heard the Vice-President urging journalists to stick to high professional standards. I mean, it sounds so basic, right? Like, “Hey, do your job well.” But these days — with clickbait headlines and half-baked WhatsApp forwards spreading faster than wildfire — it feels almost revolutionary to say, “Just tell the truth. Do it right.”
I’ve noticed (and maybe you have too) that we’re all drowning in a swamp of half-truths and spin. It’s exhausting. One minute you see a breaking news alert on X (or whatever Twitter’s calling itself now), and the next you’re five conspiracy threads deep. And for what? Eyeballs. Shares. Ad revenue. Meanwhile, the truth’s sitting in the corner like that quiet kid no one wants to play with.
In my opinion, and I could be wrong here, but journalists hold a power most of us can’t even wrap our heads around. The words they choose, the stories they tell — they can ruin lives or heal nations. It’s that serious. So yeah, I get why the Vice-President felt the need to remind everyone.
Thing is, high standards aren’t just about fact-checking or not plagiarizing (although, duh, do that too). It’s about guts. The guts to dig deeper, to ask that uncomfortable follow-up question, to not bow down when the big boss or big money says, “Tone it down.” That’s where the real backbone shows up.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if this would work — writing something so simple about something that should be obvious. But maybe it’s worth saying out loud once in a while: Journalism isn’t about being first. Or loudest. It’s about being right. And fair. And real.
So, next time you’re doom-scrolling through your feed, ask yourself: Who’s sticking to the truth? Who’s just playing dress-up as a journalist?
And if you’re a journalist reading this — maybe over your third cup of office coffee — remember what my friend said that day: The scariest part isn’t writing the truth. It’s what happens when you don’t.
Makes you wonder… what kind of stories would we be telling each other if we all chose the harder, honest road — every single time?