Journalism
Do you follow the news? Or political events as well as things that are happening the world over? Have you ever wondered how news items or tidbits about various happenings around the world make it to your newspaper or television screen?
A journalist is a person who collects, writes or distributes news or other current information to the general public. Not only do they bring you the latest news stories, but they also cover a wide range of events from local to international news. Journalists are the ones that inform people about what’s going on in the world. The main purpose of a journalist is to report news with accurate facts in an unbiased manner.
Just as there are various forms of journalistic mediums such as print, television, radio, social media and the internet, there are various types of journalists who work for a range of media platforms such as newspapers, magazines, websites, radio stations, as well as television stations.
Renowned media figure Richard Quest who was recently in Sri Lanka, said, “A journalist that works for digital media is the same as the journalist who works for newspapers and broadcast media. Journalism is journalism, regardless of which form it comes in.” As a broadcast journalist, Richard anchors various programmes as well as business and travel segments.
The basic idea of journalism is to present people with information. Just as there are various kinds of journalists, there are various kinds of jobs when it comes to journalism as well. A reporter is a journalist who researches, writes and reports information. Newspaper reporters write news articles and stories for newspapers, while there are also reporters who interview people and present facts on television. There are also feature writers who write on current and pressing issues. These journalists use a different method to get information across to an audience. A good journalist will be a good listener. Additionally, he/she will ask questions to get information. A columnist is someone who writes their opinion and point of view for a newspaper or a magazine. A correspondent is one who reports from a distant location; they could either report for a newspaper, a radio station or a television station located elsewhere, whilst an anchor is a journalist who either presents news during a news programme or hosts television programmes. They say a picture says a thousand words; A photojournalist is a journalist who takes photographs to tell a news story or depict an event or an occurrence.
If you would like to be a journalist, see where you fit in. Read more about journalism and see which topics interest you most. Maybe, you can start now and send in articles either to your school magazine or to the newspaper.