Journalism is a field of media as well as communication. It involves the production, dissemination, and management of information, ideas and news. It also refers to the profession or professionality of being a journalist. A journalist is a person who practices journalism; he or she can be either print or broadcast media. A journalist can be a writer, an editor or a broadcaster. A journalist can either report facts and information or write fictional articles. In many countries, the media is controlled by a single organization or company. This leads to inaccurate reporting of events that misinform the public. Therefore, it is important for citizens to have access to trusted news sources.
A journalist's primary duty is to report on world events; this is his assignment from his newspaper, magazine or broadcast station. He does this by using his skills in writing and communication. A journalist must be trustworthy and ethical when gathering and presenting facts to the public. Being ethical means being honest and avoiding any tricks in your reporting; maintaining editorial integrity is critical in informing the public. Honesty in reporting is crucial because it influences people's thoughts and actions. Being informed allows people to make informed decisions. Furthermore, having diverse opinions on topics allows for healthy debates that inform future decisions.
A good way to think about a journalist's job is to consider a doctor's primary assignment- treating sick people with medical conditions. A sick society leads to an unhealthy public that needs reliable news sources to stay informed. Therefore, a good start for any good story is asking 'what is going on?' This will lead the reporter to his topic and source of facts for his article. After gathering information, a good next step for the reporter is verifying the facts with other trusted sources and verifying the facts with his subject matter experts (SMEs). Once all the facts are verified, the final step in any good story is presenting it to the audience- trusting that he has shared the truth with his readership.
To maintain journalistic integrity, a journalist must stand up against corrupt politicians, backstabbing colleagues and other enemies that seek to damage him professionally and privately. In this regard, every good reporter knows that she cannot be her own boss- she must defend her work against libel lawsuits, smear campaigns and other attacks on her reputation when covering news stories. However, defending one's work does not mean defending all aspects of it; maintaining journalistic integrity means defending truth while putting personal ambition aside in reporting facts objectively.
Essentially, a good idea of what a journalist does is someone who gathers facts from various sources and shares them with the public. A trustworthy journalist maintains journalistic integrity while bearing personal risk to report on important issues affecting society today and tomorrow. No one can ever say what journalists do accurately because their work is vital to keeping countries informed and helping solve problems underpins every event in history.
