What is journalism? Who is a journalist?

Journalism: the fourth estate. The voice for the voiceless and a bug in the ear of the powerful.

Ideal journalism is truth. A story somebody decides is important, then writes and presents it in a way easily understood by readers. Journalists strive to overcome their biases and be useful to the public by reporting things as they are; what's really going on. Journalism is at its best when a story brings about positive change and betters the lives of the people they serve.

Journalists are the people who go out and do things; they investigate, interview and observe. Their work is professional and as well thought out and unbiased as possible. You don't have to be paid or go to a journalism school to be a journalist. You do have to do your own work.

A lot of people (bloggers come to mind) will take news from official sites or articles and interpret it, put their own spin on it. More power to them! The more voices are heard, the better I believe our country can become. But there's a difference between commenting on news and writing the news. A big one. Commentators are not journalists.

Though I don't agree with everything she said, a classmate of mine, Kimberly, wrote an outstanding piece about what journalism is to her. Well worth reading.

Journalism Going Digital

The Big Question: how will print journalism (traditional newspapers and magazines, etc) make the transition to the Web (its inevitable destination in this day and age)? What changes must or could be made to ease the process?

I still believe journalism is needed. Good journalists will always be needed if this country is to maintain a healthy democracy. But sometimes the road is hard, and journalists face a huge challenge: how best to take the step.

Today in my Principles of Journalism class we watched a documentary by Manny Mendoza called "Stop the Presses: The American Newspaper in Peril." The fact that news readership is moving online came across very clearly. There are still people out there who take a newspaper and even prefer it to Web news, but that generational gulf keeps growing wider. Advertisers are moving swiftly online and drawing the "lifeblood" of newspapers with them. Journalists must figure out a way for their newspapers to survive online.

With the drop in profits, and the realization that one man could be made to do the work of two men, comes media consolidation and "multimedia" journalists. Journalists and aspiring journalists must now be more well-rounded and innovative than ever before.

The Web is an "instant" medium. Users are used to browsing on their own time; how they like and when they like. As a result, time has become the key for journalists. Time is tricky; on one hand, journalists can update their stories and make changes as necessary while still offering timely and relevant news to their readers. On the other hand, many users only make one pass before moving on. They don't check back for updates or corrections. The time limit will inhibit the quality of journalists' work. Facts could be distorted, people misquoted.

So the challenge facing today's journalists is twofold: to make it on the Web in one piece and report the best they can with the time they have.