a student's values are planted

To start off... My name is Angel Larsen. I am majoring in print journalism and am excited to be a senior. I live in Brigham City with my husband, two cats, one dog (hopefully two soon) and about 45 cows. Enough about that for now.

What I view as important (not in any order):
Family
Financial security (especially as a farmer)
Honesty
Willingness to admit mistakes
Religion

What I think the media values:
Celebrities
Money and profit
Truth
Fair or unbiased reporting
Awards

I think that my personal values have evolved through my experiences. Having moved a lot in my life I had to depend on family over friends. As an elementary student we moved sometimes twice a year. I learned to quickly appreciate my family and for them to be some of my closest and greatest friends. Also as a young child I learned to be honest and admit when you are wrong. I watched as my father quit a job because he was not willing to "fix" financial records for his company. This showed me that honesty was more important than a job. That a person can replace a job but not honesty. Marrying a farmer again exemplified the importance of honesty. With my husband's example he has shown that people respect an honest, poor person over a dishonest, rich person. With my marriage came the end of the financial security I knew growing up. Now trying to prepare for the future is risky because we don't know if milk will stay or drop in price. With my belief that honest people succeed falls in religion. Throughout my life it has helped me make it through all the moves and problems. Enough blabber...onto the media.

I think that what the media values and does are not always the same things. When it comes to people, only the famous or unique or law-breaking people seem to make the news. Everyday citizens are often ignored. I don't think by mistake but because it is hard to sell stories without important people or events happening. However, if a reporter looks hard enough, everyone has a unique story to tell. Sadly, a concern with money has overrun the reporting in some media publications. Selling that five more subscriptions becomes more important than getting that source that truly has a story. With the money problem has also evolved an award obsession. Who got that? Or who received such and such is more important than reporting now days. However, sometimes the problems with the media overshadow the positive aspects. Most newspapers or broadcast stations still try to find the facts and truth and report unbiased stories. It just seems that the negative hides the positives.