Journalist

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For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation).
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Reporters at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.
A television reporter holding a microphone.
Journalism
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  • Category: Journalism

A journalist collects, writes, and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.

Roles

A reporter" is a type of journalist who researches, writes, and reports information to present in sources, conduct interviews, engage in research, and make reports. The information-gathering part of a journalist's job is sometimes called "reporting," in contrast to the production part of the job such as writing articles. Reporters may split their time between working in a newsroom and going out to witness events or interview people. Reporters may be assigned a specific beat or area of coverage.

Depending on the context, the term journalist may include various types of editors, editorial writers, columnists, and visual journalists, such as photojournalists (journalists who use the medium of photography).

Journalism has developed a variety of ethics and standards. While objectivity and a lack of bias are often considered important, some types of journalism, such as advocacy journalism, intentionally adopt a non-objective viewpoint.

Matthew C. Nisbet, who has written on science communication,[1] has defined a "knowledge journalist" as a public intellectual who, like Walter Lippmann, David Brooks, Fareed Zakaria, Naomi Klein, Michael Pollan, Thomas Friedman, and Andrew Revkin, sees their role as researching complicated issues of fact or science which most laymen would not have the time or access to information to research themselves, then communicating an accurate and understandable version to the public as a teacher and policy advisor.
Lippmann argued that most individuals lacked the capacity, time, and motivation to follow and analyze news of the many complex policy questions that troubled society. Nor did they often directly experience most social problems, or have direct access to expert insights. These limitations were made worse by a news media that tended to over-simplify issues and to reinforce stereotypes, partisan viewpoints, and prejudices. As a consequence, Lippmann believed that the public needed journalists like himself who could serve as expert analysts, guiding “citizens to a deeper understanding of what was really important.”[2]

Journalistic freedom

A program director sets the task for TV journalists

Journalists sometimes expose themselves to danger, particularly when reporting in areas of armed conflict or in states that do not respect the freedom of the press. Organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders publish reports on press freedom and advocate for journalistic freedom. As of November 2011, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 887 journalists have been killed worldwide since 1992 by murder (71 percent), crossfire or combat (17 percent), or on dangerous assignment (11 percent). The "ten deadliest countries" for journalists since 1992 have been Iraq (230 deaths), Philippines (109), Russia (77), Colombia (76), Mexico (69), Algeria (61), Pakistan (59), India (49), Somalia (45) and Brazil (31).[3]

The Committee to Protect Journalists also reports that as of December 1, 2010, 145 journalists were jailed worldwide for journalistic activities. Current numbers are even higher. The ten countries with the largest number of currently-imprisoned journalists are Turkey (95),[4] China (34 imprisoned), Iran (34), Eritrea (17), Burma (13), Uzbekistan (six), Vietnam (five), Cuba (four), Ethiopia (four), and Sudan (three).[5]

The Newseum in Washington, D.C. is home to the Journalists Memorial, which lists the names of over 2,100 journalists from around the world who were killed in the line of duty.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ See, for example, Nisbet, Matthew C. (2009). Communicating Climate Change: Why Frames Matter for Public Engagement. Environment (Online at environmentmagazine.org, retrieved 20 October 2010).
  2. ↑ Matthew C. Nisbet. "Nature’s Prophet: Bill McKibben as Journalist, Public Intellectual and Activist". Discussion Paper Series #D-78. Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, School of Communication and the Center for Social Media American University. p. 7. Retrieved March 8, 2013. 
  3. ↑ "887 Journalists Killed since 1992." Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Number of Jailed Journalists Nearly Doubles in Turkey". Los Angeles Times. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012. 
  5. ↑ Iran, China drive prison tally to 14-year high. "Iran, China drive prison tally to 14-year high (December 8, 2010). Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved November 18, 2011". Cpj.org. Retrieved 2013-04-16. 

Further reading

External links

Look up journalist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Journalists.

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