What is a Journalist?
Do you have strong communication skills? Are you interested in events, people, and the news? You may want to consider a career as a journalist!
A journalist investigates, collects, and presents information as a news story. This can be presented through newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the internet. Journalists are relied upon to present news in a well-rounded, objective manner.
In this article:
- What is a Journalist?
- What does a Journalist do?
- What is the workplace of a Journalist like?
- How long does it take to become a Journalist?
- Should I become a Journalist?
- Steps to becoming a Journalist
- What are Journalists like?
What does a Journalist do?
Journalism is a broad career with many opportunities. Within different areas of media [television, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc.], there are specialized tasks for journalists. Depending on the size of an organization, a journalist may work one or many of these tasks:
Reporters - are directly involved in the gathering of information. They conduct interviews, find sources, and pull together all the information needed to write a well-rounded news story. Reporters also present the information in a written or spoken form in news stories, documentaries, or feature articles. General reporters cover all kinds of news stories, but some may specialize in certain areas such as sports, politics, or lifestyle. Some reporters may work on staff for large news organizations, or as freelance writers, writing stories for whomever is paying them.
Editors - are in charge of deciding what goes in a newspaper, magazine, or news bulletin. They are responsible for the content that is to be written by the journalists and make all final decisions.
Sub-editors - take stories written by reporters and put them into a form that suits the special needs of their particular newspaper, magazine, or website. Sub-editors do not gather the information themselves but rather they concentrate on how existing stories can be better tailored to match a specific audience.
News Editors - are the people in charge of all news journalists. They make all the decisions about what stories to cover and who will do the work. In large news organizations, news editors may have a deputy, often referred to as the chief of staff, whose job is to assign reporters to selected stories.
Feature writers - write longer stories, which give more background to a news story. This type of writing involves a lot more in-depth research to give readers a lengthy and informative article.
Photojournalists - use photography as a way of reporting the news. They may cover events with a reporter, taking photographs to represent a written story or attend news events on their own, doing both jobs. A photojournalist must carry photographic equipment with them, and must make decisions instantly in order to capture important events at the time they take place. At times, they may be exposed to physical danger, crowds, or harsh weather.
Are you suited to be a journalist?
Journalists have distinct personalities. They tend to be artistic individuals, which means theyre creative, intuitive, sensitive, articulate, and expressive. They are unstructured, original, nonconforming, and innovative. Some of them are also enterprising, meaning theyre adventurous, ambitious, assertive, extroverted, energetic, enthusiastic, confident, and optimistic.
Does this sound like you? Take our free career test to find out if journalist is one of your top career matches.
Take the free test now Learn more about the career testWhat is the workplace of a Journalist like?
Depending on the type of article being written, a journalist works anywhere they need to in order to produce the story. The workplace may vary, whether it's attending functions and big events or knocking on people's doors. Writing the article after all the information is gathered may be done in a hotel room, a coffee shop, an office or from home.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to become a Journalist?
A four year bachelors degree is the typical education track followed by the majority of aspiring journalists. As journalists progress in their profession, some choose to complete further studies. The level of graduate degree selected generally depends on their specific career objective and/or position. To earn a masters degree takes an additional one to two years. Ph.D. programs usually last five years.
Should I become a Journalist?
It has been said that journalism is the backbone of the media industry and is critical to a high functioning society. It follows, then, that journalists must have a passion for truth, honesty, and integrity. And they must have the guts to go out and get the story.
Of course, there is much more to the role. Anyone planning to enter the field needs to understand the skills it calls for and the demands that it makes.
People who have successful careers in journalism tend to have a few things in common
They are well-read. They are interested in current events and developments.
They have a knack for thinking of or recognizing interesting stories.
They have good instincts. They read people well.
They love meeting people. They maintain strong interpersonal relationships.
They have inquiring minds. They love asking questions. They love digging.
They maintain a healthy degree of skepticism.
They are brave enough to report the unbiased truth.
They have thick skin. They can take criticism.
They are critical thinkers who can access, synthesize, and retain factual information logically and systematically.
They are motivated and persistent in their efforts to get the best available or obtainable version of the truth, and then to verify those facts.
They are effective communicators who have an intuitive understanding of storytelling and the non-fiction narrative devices that create drama, tension, and suspense.
They are adept at working with evolving technologies, databases, and social media that are the modern tools of journalism.
They give up the notion of a regular work week. They embrace the pace of their work, are cool under pressure, and go when and where the story calls.
Steps to becoming a Journalist
The educational track to becoming a journalist is rather clear-cut: earn a bachelors degree, potentially, a masters, and participate in related internships. The less defined part of the path to this profession lies in the options that exist for specialization.
What are Journalists like?
Based on our pool of users, journalists tend to be predominately artistic people. Their next two strongest archetypes are investigative and social. The combination of these three characteristics describes not coincidentally the quintessential journalist: an individual who has a natural creative skill, who is intensively inquisitive, and who is willing to talk and engage with other people.
Journalists are also known as:
Editorial Writer Columnist