The importance and dangers of journalism are often overlooked. Journalists frequently put their lives on the line to cover corruption and expose evil taking place and great changes have been made because of it.
A recent change caused by journalistic bravery is the introduction of Senate Bill (SB) 495 which looks to further regulate the field of substance use disorder. This change was brought on by the fantastic and brave reporting of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Lauren Chooljian in her podcast, “The 13th Step.” Her podcast covered sexual abuse allegations under what was the largest addiction recovery system in the Northeast.
Chooljian was greatly courageous to bring these allegations to light, especially since there were people in power who did not want them out there and did their best to shut her down. She showed just how important journalism is because the sexual abuse was known as an open secret leading many people to be harmed when they were looking to get better. Exposing the evil going on under the guise of recovery needed to be known and Chooljian let people know, despite the danger it brought her.
Another journalist from N.H., James Foley, was killed by ISIS 10 years ago during his coverage of the Syrian civil war. His mother, Diane Foley, recently released a book titled, “American Mother” describing the story of how she learned about her son’s death and its impact.
These two show how dangerous journalism can be while also showing how vital it is to keep the profession going. While it is terrible Foley was killed by ISIS, I am glad his mother can find closure in writing her book to show just how important the impact of his work was. It is great to bring exposure to violent radicals so it may be easier to eradicate them.
Foley’s coverage of the Syrian civil war impacted the populace to see how far ISIS was going and his death was not in vain. His death showed just how much we should be fighting against religious extremism because if we do not, they will come after innocent civilians.
Likewise, Chooljian’s work was also super important. She did not die from her work, but she still put herself in significant danger in exposing the corruption of addiction recovery programs. The damage these recovery programs have caused was something not well known to the public and incredibly, Chooljian was able to shine a light on all the horrors going on within them.
The introduction of SB 495 shows how important her work was in bringing wider regulation to these programs. People looking to recover from addiction should be able to recover, they should not have to worry about being sexually abused and neither should anyone else for that matter. There are other problems I have with certain recovery programs, specifically the 12-Step programs in how effective they are, but the point is people in recovery are there for recovery and not to be hit on by a person who has power over them.
Foley and Chooljian are just a drop in the ocean of how dangerous and important journalism is. I hope the profession can be seen for how crucial it is and that journalists can be treated with more respect for the work they provide. Sadly I do not see many people share their appreciation for journalists, but I hope that can change very soon.
Nico Brazill can be contacted at
nbrazill@kscequinox.com
