Journalism is dead. 

I know it’s ironic reading this from a journalist, but spend enough time in a newsroom, and you start to wonder if that is an exaggeration or a question everyone is afraid to answer.

This thought was first introduced to me when a classmate questioned my career path, remarking that “AI will take over my job anyway.” Well, maybe they are not entirely wrong.

I have been on The Chatterbox for nearly five years. If I have learned anything in the countless hours I’ve spent writing or the endless number of times I’ve stayed up late editing and revising the same sentence over and over and over again, it’s that absolutely no one—with the exception of Mr. Gerth and Elena’s grandma—cares about newspapers.

I don’t say this to diminish the work and dedication journalists pour into their publications; it’s just a fact. No one cares about journalism.

And why should they?

I mean, it’s pretty well known by student journalists that the news industry does not promise job security… so why do we do it? Why spend 10+ hours a week writing articles, editing videos and studying current events just for no one else to care?

It’s simple. 

Journalism is needed now more than ever. Whether you choose to believe it is up to you, but that’s the truth.

Sure, maybe we enjoy covering some fun “fluff” pieces every now and then, but who doesn’t enjoy learning about your first bell teacher’s celebrity crush, or that girl you sit next to in math class’s favorite Black person (if those interests you, feel free to check them out at whhscbox.com). But crazy as it may seem, these too are products of good journalism; they tell a story.

Now, maybe those stories didn’t interest you, or may seem strange and frivolous, but one day you will (hopefully) open a newspaper and skim down the pages until one story stops you. I can’t speak for the rest of my peers, but that’s my why. 

You can read newspapers 100 times without reading anything at all. But that 101st time, when it finally hits you, when you finally realize it actually matters, that moment is why I do what I do. That’s why I’m sitting here writing this article at 1 a.m. instead of studying for my pre-calculus test, in hopes that you reading this

Now these sentiments are nice and all, but they still don’t answer my initial question: why should you, a reader with absolutely no connection whatsoever to newspapers, care if people like me will have a job in the next 10 years? Simply put… You shouldn’t.

You shouldn’t care that local newspapers are disappearing in many areas because no one cares enough to pay for them.

And you definitely shouldn’t care that 2025 was reported as a “deadly year for journalists” with 129 reportedly killed worldwide, largely due to covering stories on local politics or crime. That would just be absurd.

I mean, who cares if misinformation spreads faster than verified news online, and the truth gets buried under engagement metrics?

So no, you are not contractually or morally obligated to sit down every day, pretending to care, and read the newspaper.

You shouldn’t care, but you could.

Journalists across the country are being murdered each day for their commitment to truth and justice. Do we not owe them something for their sacrifice?

So the next time you wake up early on a Sunday morning and sit at the table to have a nice cup of steaming, black coffee, think of us, your lovely, reliable local journalists who want nothing more than for someone other than our grandparents to read our work.

And if you are reading this article and are below the age of 65, congratulations: you are part of the 0.01% of the population that still cares enough to be here.