Yesterday's and Today's Journalist

“At its core, the job of the [working] journalist [today] is unchanged.”

In 1828, in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, journalism was defined as “the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media.” I think that this statement is, for the most part, true. Journalism encompasses finding and disseminating information. For news stories, interviews are conducted, information is researched. The story is then printed in a newspaper or broadcast over the radio, etc. What we consider media has changed though. In the past media was print journalism. Eventually radio, then television was incorporated. Now, the internet is the fastest and easiest way to obtain news.

What has changed, however, are the number of outlets to distribute news to as well as the speed at which journalism runs at. The internet is probably the biggest factor in these changes. Newspapers are not only in print form but also online. Radio and television are online. Blogs and social media also contribute to more news outlets. The internet also affects how fast news is distributed. Everyone must constantly be monitoring what is being said on the web. Journalism is a 24/7 business. It never rests.

Journalism has become more active as well. As consumers we still want factual and accurate news. We still place trust in various news outlets. We do not want to be misguided or misled. We still hold the media accountable for any misinformation they disseminate. Now, though, the speed at which this is done is sometimes almost immediate. A member of the public may write a blog in response to a piece of incorrect news. Others may link to this blog and so on. The medium that originally reported the news item must then act quickly and correct and respond to it in order to maintain a positive image in the eyes of the public.

I do agree with the statement that “the job of the [working] journalist [today] is unchanged.” Where I find some unclear lines is with the word “journalist.” I always thought of a journalist as a professional employed by a newspaper, radio or television station. Today, a journalist can really be anyone. People who are not communications professionals can write anything they want and put it on the web. Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that a journalist is “someone who keeps a journal.” So basically anyone could be considered a journalist at some point. When all media was prohibited from entering Iran around election time the world was not completely in the dark about what was going on. People used their phones to capture the events.

The scale of what we report the news on has also changed. News is no longer just local. News is reported on at the national and international levels. Journalists are sent all over the world to get the story. News at every level has to be monitored.

Overall, the core of a journalist has not changed. Their job is still to find the news and share it. The magnitude of how that is done has changed and the rate at which it is done has changed as well.