What is Journalism, and Who's involved?

Journalism: Defined

To start off my personal definition of journalism, I feel it is vital to first consider the history of journalism. Now, I don't intend to provide a long lecture outlining the history and development of the news media; in fact, I mean quite the opposite. One crucial fact in American history relating to journalism stands out to me: the 1st amendment assures the freedom of the press by providing specific Constitutional protection. This fact shows just how important journalism is to democracy, and how necessary a free press is to protect the future of freedom in America and throughout the world.

"Journalism" is a broad encompassing word that can have so many different definitions, but I believe the these three concepts make up the primary purpose of journalism in society:

• Seek truth and report it
  
• Provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing
• Spark conversations among the people by giving them things to think about

I believe that these three aspects of journalism are what have preserved the practices of news-gathering and reporting throughout all these years of constant global change. They also form the heart of real journalism, and they are the essence of why I want to spend my life as a journalist, which brings me to my next question.

Who is a journalist?

From what I know about myself and from what I've studied about other people in the news industry, I've seen that most journalists have three qualities in common:

• A deep love for reading and ESPECIALLY for writing
• An insatiable curiosity
• A desire to contribute to society and make a difference

These three passions make up the foundation for a true journalist. I do believe that journalism is a real profession, and I also believe that it takes education, experience, and dedication to succeed in the news business. Without people who have devoted their time and skills to the gathering and presentation of news, news quality and credibility would diminish considerably. This ensures a constant societal need for journalists. But a wonderful thing about the internet and various forms of social media is how everyone who has the desire to write, to share their opinions, or to gather and report information has the ability to do so. Now in seconds people all over the world can be actively engaged in a blogger forum discussing current events. But journalists will always be necessary to give these forums necessary guidance and credibility by ensuring that the truth does not get lost among the abundant flow of online opinions.