What purpose does journalism serve in your everyday life?

The easy pat answer to this question might be something like "journalism provides me with information about the world outside of my own direct experience" or "journalism informs me of the problems in my community and society".  Well of course it does.  The real question is, what do you DO with that information?  How do you let the information you receive influence your life?  Obviously journalism's purpose is to instruct you and give you reference to what is happening around you, but everyone reacts differently to information.  In my life, journalism plays a huge role in inspiring me.

I have a myriad of goals and ambitions and no idea how to go about accomplishing them.  However, ever since I can remember having these goals, I also remember clipping out newspaper or magazine articles about  people or events that gave me ideas or inspired me to do what they have accomplished.  I keep these for reference for those days when I'm going to set about accomplishing all my impossibly high goals.  I've saved articles about Scott Neeson, who left his lucrative job as a Hollywood producer to bring sustenance and education to starving children.  I clipped out a National Geographic article that described the land mine conditions in war-torn Cambodia and what they were doing to combat the accidental explosions.  I want to use all the information that I'm given to allow myself to be inspired to make history as well as record it.  Many people are easily discouraged by what they read in the news.  But I want to be inspired by it.  If something discourages you, set out to change it!  And be that inspiration for others.