Journalist

From ArticleWorld


A journalist gathers and distributes information covering a wide variety of topics, including current events, trends, issues and people. Journalists practice journalism in a wide range of fields.

What they do

Journalists create reports for broadcast or publication in media outlets like newspapers, television, magazine, film, radio and the Internet. They find sources to use for their work, which is typically either spoken or written, depending on the type of media. Generally, a journalist is expected to provide a fair and balanced account of what he or she is reporting on. By presenting information in a fair and unbiased way, the public’s interest is best served. At times, the use of the word journalist includes a variety of editors and visual journalists (photographers, graphic artists, etc).

Origin of the term

Early in the 19th century, the word journalist was used to describe someone who wrote for journals. However, over the past 100 years, it has come to also mean those who write for papers and magazines. Many people interchange the term journalist with reporter but this narrow classification overlooks other types of journalists (like columnists, photographers, designers and editors, for example). Those employed in journalism are expected to behave in a professional manner in their reporting and ethics.

Varieties of the term

  • Internet-only journalists have work appear online, but in no other media.
  • Fiction-writing journalists have made their mark in the writing of material that is not typically considered journalism.
  • Modern journalists are often citizen journalists and make it almost impossible to determine which journalists are notable and ethical since it is often hard to identify these journalists. This field has expanded with blogs and independently-developed Web sites.