What is Journalism and what does it mean to be a Journalist

According to Ask.com Journalism is the investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience about topics ranging from government and business organizations to cultural aspects of society such as arts and entertainment. The field includes editing, photojournalism, and documentary.  I don't have a lot of experience in Journalism.  However I've always enjoyed writing and I like to read articles.  I like to read articles about people and their experiences.  I am a people person and I'm excited to get into the field of journalism so that I can hopefully have the opportunity to interview people.  To me a journalism is finding out the real story and reporting it.  I feel that being honest in the field of Journalism is very important.




What does it mean to be a journalist?  I don't really know how to answer that question yet.  However I found some information about what qualifications are necessary to become a journalist.  As a journalist you will need a good appreciation of the English language, but more importantly you will need determination and enthusiasm for the role.  Most jobs, especially top journalism jobs are very sought after and no matter how many qualifications you may have, you will need to convince the editor that you are the right person for the job.  I also learned that you need to be perceptive which means that you need to ask the right questions at the right time.  You have to be able to write at the correct level for your audience.  You have to be determined to get the story at all costs and your information has to be accurate or else it could have legal implications.  

My previous major was Psychology, this is my first semester getting into journalism.  I know that I have a lot to learn but I'm excited to find out what it means to be a journalist in the future.      




http://www.ask.com/wiki/Journalism?
http://www.whatqualifications.com/WhatQualifications/Journalist