It is not an end in itself. Even those who learn for the sake of pleasure wish to be able to apply what they learn to accomplish some greater purpose in life. Local political guru Bob Oshiro has often said that politics brings out the very best and the very worst in people. Politics can be a very noble profession, as human beings are also social beings. We work together as an individual family, in groups, neighborhoods, interest groups, communities, state, nation and world.
Journalism is politics.
I took a political science class at UH Manoa in the summer session of 1979 on that very subject. Print and broadcast journalism are mass communication devices designed to disseminate knowledge and information in a mass society. One key component of journalism content is political information. Indeed, journalists are gatekeepers of information on the political process. Journalists set the political agenda by calling attention to community concerns to the electorate, who in turn influence elected officials and opinion leaders.