MA Journalism Personal Statement Samples

MA Journalism Personal Statement Samples

I am eager to spend the coming decades fully committed to promoting objective news reporting, as opposed to fake, false, and sensationalist news. As an idealist, I believe there is no greater calling or nobler aspiration than advancing truth in journalism, providing society with news that accurately reflects reality, free from political or economic agendas or any propagandistic intent, as much as possible.

Regrettably, it seems to me that US society is increasingly moving away from conciliatory dialogue, attitudes, or attempts to focus on unity and common ground rather than division. I view groups like the Proud Boys and Black Lives Matter as not entirely different manifestations of the same phenomenon, two sides of the same coin.

While I acknowledge that no journalist can completely avoid imparting some bias to the stories they present, misinformation is unfortunately becoming the norm. For many who convey the news, this misinformation is increasingly intentional, deliberate, even calculated. Too many in the public arena have declared truth as either dead or irrelevant, abandoning it in favor of strategies to sway listeners to the speaker's interests. Misinformation has infiltrated both major – if not all – political parties in the USA. For many, it is seen as necessary to defend oneself or one’s party from vicious, fake news attacks from perceived adversaries. Nowadays, it is more common to forsake congeniality and grace, adopting a strategy of stooping lower than one’s political or ideological opponents to beat them at their own game, or at least attempt to do so. This has led to significant waste in public affairs and embarrassment for America on the international stage, exemplified by the outgoing President Trump.

Of course, there are appropriate times for opinion writing, but I believe such material should always be clearly identified with a disclaimer. People with both liberal and conservative views need a space to express their concerns without being labeled as racist, homophobic, deplorable, etc. I regret having to receive my education in an America more polarized than ever, where emotions run so high on both sides that meaningful and productive conversations are often difficult to have.

I admit to having daydreamed about becoming a legal commentator like Nancy Grace. I admire her ability to explain the law in terms understandable to most people. Her show serves an important social purpose by helping ordinary individuals grasp complex legal issues. I admire Nancy Grace because I aspire to a journalism career with educational, human, and social purposes. If I could choose any professional position, it would be a toss-up between being a news anchor for either Fox News or CNN. This reflects my desire for a professional center rather than a Left or Right slant. I view both networks as biased in their respective directions and aspire to engage in something more balanced.

I am a people person and maintain good relationships with everyone. Occasionally, I become loud due to my sheer enthusiasm. When I become interested in something, I become obsessed. I must watch every movie, read every book, every article, etc. For instance, I was deeply moved by the Parkland school shooting in 2018. I was glued to Fox News as a father, who lost his daughter in the shooting, made a speech at the White House. I even reached out to him three times to get involved, and he responded positively, leading to collaboration with his wife on research concerning state and federal law on school safety. I also managed their social media accounts. Once the investigation into the shooting concluded, it was clear to all involved that the Broward County School Board failed by not taking seriously the warnings they received about the shooter.

That summer, I moved to Parkland, Florida, to work on a school board campaign for Richard Mendelson. I wrote my thesis on threatened masculinity because it helps explain why school shootings occur, closely examining Nikolas Cruz's behavior leading up to the Parkland shooting.

I already hold a JD but find Law much more exciting when combined with journalism, which I hope to achieve by earning an MA in Journalism at _____ University, always in search of truth and persuasiveness. Public policy and its relation to political decision-making are central to my world. A highlight of my Law School days was participating in the “Kid’s Court,” educating children and youth about investigative and judicial processes, using a standardized, evidence-based curriculum to maintain the integrity of the legal process. We conducted ongoing research aimed at minimizing the potentially traumatic effects of the courtroom on children and creating a training program for best practices in educating children and youth about the judicial process.

MA Journalism Personal Statement Samples