Top Stories of 2019 that were Overshadowed

Simply put, modern day journalism is a rapacious and unbridled feeding frenzy. Harsh words for someone that wants to get into the field, but the truth of the matter is that information is processed and reported so quickly that it sometimes ends up being completely incorrect, or just a media circus of sensational headlines all processed to generate sweet ad revenue. It would be easy for me to be redundant and say that “Donald Trump's impeachment was the most important news break within the past 12 months,” but frankly the president bears no more celebrity status than Jackass’ Steve-O. Yes, it is spectacular that we lived to see the third president fail to uphold his duty as commander in chief but it will ultimately be forgotten to the sands of time. To prove my point, go out on the street and ask anyone who was the first president to be impeached or, better yet, go ask a millennial who was the second president was. Then ask them who made the song “Thriller.”

Photo Credit: NBC News

My future grandchildren are not going to know about the three ring circus of Trump’s Impeachment, Prince Harry leaving the motherland, and the Pope going off the wall and slapping his loving followers even though it’s all we see on the ten o’clock news. A good story impacts future generations, even if they will be too young to remember the exact event that changed their world. Most of us weren’t around for Martin Luther King’s iconic speech or the moon landing but these two events illustrate the world’s continuing progress in social acceptance no matter your creed and the possibility of what we can accomplish with technological innovations. In the year 2019 we saw such progress when Thailand legalized same sex marriage and when scientists captured the first image of a black hole. These are some of the greatest reports of the year and of the entire decade.

Thailand became the first South Asian country to legalize gay marriage. The very idea of gay marriage is still a new concept. To put it into perspective, our beautiful nation didn’t legalize same sex marriage until 2015. There was nearly 40 years of LGBT+ activism going on since that time. Thailand in particular is heavily influenced by Buddhism where marriage is between a man and a woman; anything otherwise is considered immoral. Moderates claim that these citizens are second class. The United Nations Development Programme reports that Thailand does not protect the right of gay and trans citizens in the workplace; employers can fire you based on your sexual orientation (UNDP, 7). Even popular Thai personality Woody Milintachinda, who is in a same sex relationship himself, believed that giving full rights would be a bad idea for their nation: “If you push too hard, you might be agrivating the people that are living here,” (DW News). But despite all of the controversy, parliment legalized same sex unions in January 2019. Thousands of people rallied in celebration at Thailand’s capital, Taipei.

Photo Credit: Pink News

28 countries now recognize same-sex marriage as constitutional. Full civil rights for all people of every nation is no small task and will likely take hundreds of years to achieve, but it’s a start. This is a step in the right direction into making our world more accepting and loving. Terms like “be a man” and “that’s gay” will be that of the past. Children should not be bound by gender norms: we are all born with different races, religions, and orientations. Civil rights is just one facet to the flourishing of the human race. Technological advancement is another huge factor in the development of society.

Scientific achievements are a good prophecy of what our future holds. Up until this point black holes were illustrated by computer generated graphics. The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration is responsible for this rousing achievement (Lutz). This group of two hundred scientists calibrated satellite telescopes that were placed around the world in order to stitch together this spectacular image. Theories of the first black holes date back to Einstein’s 1930’s study. After almost 90 years we are now able to see what he theorized all that time ago. This image will be shown in children’s astronomy textbooks for generations; education will be shaped forever.

Our universe is still a mystery, and it’s up to the youth to continue our unfinished research. Shepard Doeleman, who was involved in the project said that 60 institutes around the world were involved (TED). As technology continues to grow, the job market to create and maintain it will as well. We as a society have come far since the first computer. The first email was made using a 50 ton CPU. Nowadays, your 5 ounce iphone can email your boss that you’re sick and order a McRib from Grubhub afterwards. Eventually, we’ll be able to film black holes through an app on augmented reality iGlasses.

Photo Credit: Harvard University

Although both stories are vastly different, they share a common theme: inspiration for a brighter future. Our world is coming together. We are becoming smarter and more loving toward one another. Claiming that one of these articles is more culturally impactful than the other is morally wrong. Without technology we risk our planet falling apart to natural causes. And without acceptance we risk destroying ourselves through means of hate crimes and slaverly. Both of these reports show that we are constantly moving forward, even though both articles were short lived in the grand scheme of media rotation. News like this is always overshadowed by celebrity sensationalism far too often; the Duchess of Sussex is not that important. I don’t enjoy the fact that the news is overrun by “a frail old woman and a baby,” the Duchess and our president respectively (CBS). There will always be a place in the news for entertainment drama because we all need levity in our lives, but the stories that will transcend are the ones of inspiration and progress. It is up to us as journalists to convey news that matters: public awareness toward the progress of our future.

Works Cited

CBS Studio Center. (2013). Parks and Recreation: London Part 1.

DW News (2018, December 28). Thailand set to legalize same-sex civil unions| DW News. Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-TcGkV7nrk

Inside the black hole image that made history | Sheperd Doeleman. (2019, May 10). Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyMtsyzXWd4

Lutz, O. (2019, April 19). How Scientists Captured the First Image of a Black Hole - Teachable Moments. Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/2019/4/19/how-scientists-captured-the-first-image-of-a-black-hole/

United Nations Development Programme, UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre. (2014). Being Lgbt in Asia: Thailand country report: a participatory review and analysis of the legal and social environment ofr lesbian, gay, bisesual and transgender (Lgbt) persons and civil society. Bangkok, Thailand.