Journalists work in many areas of life, finding and presenting
information, however, for the purposes of this module we define journalists as
those who present that information as news to the audiences of newspapers,
magazines, radio or television stations or via the Internet.
Within
these different media, there are specialist tasks for journalists. In large organizations,
the journalists may specialize in only one task. In small organizations, each
journalist may have to do many different tasks.
Reporting Duties
Before journalists can write about a subject,
they must first gather information. They usually conduct several interviews
with people involved in or having knowledge of the subject.
Unbiased Reporting
Unbiased Reporting
A journalist's report should be unbiased,
according to Pew's Principles of Journalism. This means that if he has a
financial interest in his subject, he should give the report to someone else.
Legal Responsibilities
In
addition to serving the public interest, journalists must also follow the law,
especially regarding the confidentiality and privacy of the people they
interview or write about.
Ethical Responsibilities
Some
aspects of a journalist's job are not subject to any kind of law but are just
as important. Journalists must strive to present an accurate, well-balanced
explanation of the stories they cover.
Making Important News Interesting
A
news agency must engage its audience to get them to tune in. But it also must
find ways to make significant stories interesting, so that readers and viewers
don't miss out on what they need to know, the Pew Research project states.
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