What is Journalism?
Basically, all journalism is concerned with news. It may be news of the moment, of what has happened or is in the process of happening. Or it may be longer-term news either for a general or a particular audience. The news may be of interest to everybody or to only a small group. In journalism there is an element of timeliness not usually present in the more leisurely types of writing, such as writing of books. Journalism is known to be a report of things as they appear at the moment of writing. Historically the journalist has been identified by society to be carrying out two main functions: reporting the news and offering interpretation and opinion based on it.
Commonly identified as “journalists” are the reporters, writers, editors, and columnists who work for newspapers, press associations, news magazines devoted largely to public affairs.
News reporting and commentaries delivered by television and radio are equally a form of journalism, as are direct broadcasts of news events and public affairs documentaries.
Journalistic writing1 is a contemporary report of the changing scene2, intended to inform readers of what is happening around them. The impact of journalism can and often does influence the course of events, because it brings the public opinion into focus3 and sometimes creates it.
There are two great characteristics that make news work worthwhile. First, journalists are forced to keep learning, to enter new worlds, to see life from yet another perspective. Second, they are supposed to say what things really are.
Most journalists find their work interesting and rewarding on the whole. They face new situations every day. They have chances to meet important and interesting people and deal with vital social and political issues. They get pleasure from doing a public service, however small their contribution. While they work constantly under deadline pressures, they consider this to be part of “being in the action”.
The journalist is sure to deal with immediacy. He is communicating the developments of the day to an audience whose lives are affected by the events he discusses. Many of the facts reported in any issue are soon outdated by later developments; yet they are true at the moment of writing.
The television and radio journalist communicates news of contemporary events by means of electronic devices. The television and radio journalism is more pronounced than that of the written word. Events with strong elements of sound or sight, such as a forest fire, a football game, or a political convention are sure to be especially well communicated by television and radio. And the reading public and viewers want the news to be true, timely and exciting.
“A Good Journalist” – What Does It Mean?
One reason why journalism used to appeal so much to young people as a career was that it did not seem to need long and boring periods of study. After all, a reporter seems to need only a nose for news, a notebook and a pencil and ambition. Many famous journalists of today did start in exactly that way. On the other hand, if you ask anyone in business what it takes to make a journalist you are likely to get the whole catalogue of human virtues in answer. You will be told that you have to be unusually curious, that you have to love and understand people, have feeling and compassion for your fellow-man, and be able to make him talk to you. Naturally, you have to have a compulsive urge to write, be able to express yourself clearly, enjoy reading, and be ready to study beyond office hours. You should of course be willing to work hard. You should have an extraordinary broad education. On top of this you should have a pleasant personality, be sincere, enthusiastic, have a sense of humour, be dependable, sensitive, idealistic, dedicated, open-minded and responsible. As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Journalism is a hard life. It can be exciting, but it can be sometimes boring. It can be demanding and so make it difficult or impossible for you to do a lot of things that other people do in their spare time. It can separate you from your family for a great amount of time. Some journalists see their school-going children only at week-ends. It can cut you off from a good deal of social life with your friends. It can make it almost impossible for you to know when you will be free and what time you will be able to call your own.
To be a good journalist you must have a great deal of curiosity. You must be able to get on friendly terms with men and women of all sorts, however much they may differ from each other or from you. Journalism is no place for shy person who finds it difficult to talk to strangers. You must be able to write in a simple and lucid fashion and, above all, quickly, and in short sentences which convey concisely what is meant.
A reporter is responsible to his chief of staff. But the chief is not with him when he is reporting the proceedings of Parliament or some meeting. The chief is not with him when he is interviewing an important person: not with him when he is reporting an event involving loss of life, a fire or a flood. There the reporter is on his own, with nobody to turn to for advice. There he has to make his own decisions and shoulder responsibility. A good journalist is not easily rebuffed. He must have a good deal of self-reliance, push, energy and initiative.
If you think you can measure up to these standards try to take up journalism as a career. And first of all you should be trained for journalism. Today would-be journalists need a higher standard of school qualifications before they can get a job in the first place. And then they must agree to follow a course of training and pass their examinations before they can be sure of holding onto their jobs.