It’s not just about the sharing of information or the jotting down of news for the public. Journalism is for the truth. Its first obligation is to the whole truth and nothing but the truth. With truth comes facts; and facts breed opinions, criticism, and debate. Discourse is established and societal advancements can be made with relative ease.
Journalists work in many areas of life, finding and presenting information. However, for the purposes of this manual I define journalists principally as men and women who present that information as news to the audiences of newspapers, magazines, radio or television stations or the Internet. Within these different media, there are specialist tasks for journalists. In large organisations, the journalists may specialise in only one task. In small organisations, each journalist may have to do many different tasks.
The reason for this is the fact that it is essential for different voices and opinions to be conveyed in an effective manner. Hence journalism is a pillar of democracy and free society. The modern world has been changing on a number of fronts. The geo-political scenario, economic landscape and technological perspectives
Journalism is a pivotal part of the public being exposed to information about the happenings of the world (Wilke 2013). Journalists are required to provide an honest depiction of events that would be otherwise hidden in plain sight. With the increase of platforms to receive information, such as online reporting, the public is exposed to a wide variety of inaccurate facts that negatively skews the levels of trust that exists for the press (Richardson 2017 pp. 1-3). It has become harder for journalism to remain as influential as it once was due to the growing distrust from the public (Keane 2013, n.p.).
The job of a journalist is to get as close to the truth of news worthy stories as they possibly can. Journalists provide citizens with valuable information that is needed to make the best decisions about their lives, communities, and their governments. Journalists use a variety of media to distribute their information. Newspapers, television, radio and digital media are most commonly used to present the news to the public. Having access to new various ways of communication in the 20th century can be a positive aspect for journalists as this makes sharing news as easy as ever.
It is often argued that the existence of a democratic society necessitates the existence of information outlets whose duty is to provide the populace with authentic, unbiased and relevant material. Media outlets are thus the most pivotal institutions within society. The obligation of the modern media and its journalists to perform sufficiently as the "fourth estate of democracy" - that is, the vital pillar in maintaining social equality - arguably stopped being fulfilled when media became privately owned. In recent years, rhetoric has triumphed over reality and the general public seem to remain unaware. Owned by media monopolist Rupert Murdoch, popular newspaper "The Courier Mail" is perhaps one of the most biased outlets of all popular newspapers.
Journalism is a competitive field, yet highly rewarding. To be successful as a journalist, you must have a passion for truth and honesty and the nerve to go out and get the story. Keep on reading and learn how to get there. What does a journalist really do? •Process information.
We have entered a hugely multi-direct environment in which 'keeping the doors' to spare clients from the surge of data is no more conceivable. (Bruns 2006) Citizen journalism makes sure to report events or incidences that the mainstream media may otherwise fail to report, especially in remote areas or cities where it is nearly impossible for news team access. The practice of citizen journalism also saves money by implementing the views of unpaid journalists who indirectly become volunteers for adding to actual news reports. Citizen journalism has also strived to provide what real journalism hasn’t been able to provide, coverage of society which leads to building a sense of society. (Kelly
It involves non-professional, un-trained locals reporting on news themselves and using social media as a platform to do so, in a basic sense. These reporters are from outside the mainstream media, certainly not trained or qualified enough to be journalists. “They write and report from their position as citizens, as members of communities, as activists as fans.” (Atton, 2009) The expansion of Twitter and Facebook over the last ten years has made the need for instant reporting an essential part of the news room and citizen journalism has certainly challenged and shaped the future of mainstream media. As Melisa Wall states, however you want to define or label it, “Citizen journalism is now an essential part of news gathering and delivery around the world”. Anyone with access to a
The extent to which citizen journalism has challenged the practice of professional journalism With the popularity of the Internet and the rapid development of all types of mobile communications, citizen journalism has played a crucial role in the development of professional journalism. Storytelling is not only just the right of journalists, but also the right of ordinary citizens to tell stories and publish news in recent years. From the citizen journalism and professional journalism of the respective characteristics of the analysis, they have their own advantages and disadvantages. Analysis on the development trend of citizen news and professional News, they challenge each other and assist each other. Timeliness is one of the challenges to professional journalism.