By: Amelia Gutierrez
On April 21, 2011, Professor Jose Alvarado invited Telemundo’s News Executive Vice President Ramon Escobar to speak to his students about his definition of the word journalism. With wit and zeal, Escobar captivated the attention of Alvarado’s students as he defined journalism.
Throughout Escobar’s lecture, he interacted with the students by asking them what they thought was journalism.
“Journalism is a credible source of information,” a student said.
Another student said that journalism was reporting and investigating newsworthy content.
Although Escobar agreed with the students’ definitions, he said that journalism can be defined in one simple sentence.
On the dry-erase board he wrote: Journalism is a current, reasoned reflection of society’s events, needs and values.
For one simple sentence, it took more than an hour to explain his definition of journalism. The sentence was not so simple. He broke down the sentence, to further dissect the true value of the sentence.
The sentence later became a current, logically researched reflection–whether it be in print, television, or online–of society’s events, needs and values.
He stated that needs and values could vary depending on the society, geographical location, gender, sex, religion, sexual orientation, culture, etc.
Escobar stressed the importance of understanding the needs and values of an audience. He stated that the content might be valuable and important for an audience, but without relating the information to the audience’s needs and values, the information would not be beneficial and not as effective.
The class ended with an applause from the students who appreciated his lecture.
History Cut Short 
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