Who qualify as journalists and what is journalism?
Something I asked myself when enrolling in the Principles of Journalism was whether it would change my perception of a journalist’s job description. Was I right in thinking that all journalists spent their time furiously typing in a newsroom or out in the field chasing down new stories? In short, the answer is no, the role is much more complicated than that.
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Journalists connect people with the rest of the world and their important role means they have an obligation to the public. Just like the town crier used to do, they give a voice to the voiceless and make sure that the public stay well informed of pressing issues and events. Journalists have the power to deliver the truth while keeping the people in power honest and therefore must follow a code of ethics.
This week’s content has also influenced me to have a deeper think about the line between blogging and journalism, which is becoming exceedingly blurred. The key factor that separates professional journalists from writers is whether they consciously follow the previously mentioned code of ethics. For example, although I am publicly writing about journalism in this blog post, I’m not actively considering the journalistic code of ethics that while doing so and because of this, I do not consider myself a journalist.
The goal for journalists is, ideally, to include the five ws and h all in their first sentence whilst adhering to the inverted pyramid structure (seen below). Accuracy, brevity, and clarity are also equally imperative in this profession because in reality, people can be impatient. We want to get to the point as quickly as we can rather than sifting through a journalist’s irrelevant musings.
Journalism By Paris 