I truly am excited for this assignment. I have a passion for journalism and the media. It is my major, (broadcast journalism), and I chose that major for a reason. The study of journalism and being a part of the journalism process absolutely fascinates and entertains me. I have loved it since I woke up early each morning before middle school to watch my Aunt Heidi anchor the morning show on our local Fox station in Las Vegas. I would, naturally, have to change the channel immediately as soon as the clock struck 7 a.m. to ensure that I was able to hear my favorite sentence of the day: "live, from Rockefeller Plaza, this is TODAY!" That show had it all, and, in my middle-school mind, was the ultimate dream job. Chatting it up with Matt Lauer while talking about breaking news and interviewing celebrities or hosting concerts. Those anchors were so lucky. It wasn't until I got to BYU and took a tour of the news room on my very first day on campus that I realized I could do that too! I could be on T.V. and share the news with everyone. I could interview people (maybe not celebrities quite yet, but people nonetheless), and I.....I could be....A JOURNALIST.
This particular subject we have been asked to blog about is: what is journalism and who is a journalist.
Let me start out with the first question:
WHAT IS JOURNALISM?
To answer this question, i turned to the source of all my knowledge and one of the more credible online information sites: WIKIPEDIA. (does sarcasm come through on a blog?)
Wikipedia defines journalism as: the investigation and reporting of events, issues, and trends to a broad audience. Although there is much variation within journalism, the ideal is to inform the citizenry.
Hmmm. I agree. This is a great definition. Journalism is investigation and reporting. It is information meant for a large audience. It is used to INFORM.Inform is the key word, here. Informing people is always the focus of journalism. Let's establish that as the answer to this question. Journalism means communicating as a means of informing. How many times can I say inform in one paragraph??? Gees. Well, I would rather not focus the majority of this blog post on what exactly journalism is, because I believe that journalism is defined by the journalism, so, we move on:
WHO IS A JOURNALIST?
I love this question. No, false, I don't love this question. I ADORE THIS QUESTION. It is one of my favorite topics to discuss and whenever this question comes up during one of my classes I am always bubbling with answers and knowledge from the mind of Anna: aspiring journalist. Let's start this portion of my blog post out with a youtube video (youtube is so great, don't you just love it?)
This is what a journalist is NOT:
hahaha. I LOVE Rita Skeeter. One time I dressed up as her for a Harry Potter movie premiere:
uncanny, right??
Rita Skeeter is a Daily Prophet reporter in the Harry Potter series, as well as one of the greatest characters from the mind of J.K. Rowling. Rita Skeeter is a liar, manipulator, and a huge rule breaker when it comes to reporting and writing factually about events. However, she has some redeeming qualities that will serve as a great segway into my answer about who a journalist is. Rita Skeeter is feisty, energetic, out for an informative story, a woman who knows her audience, and wants to captivate them. Ignore that fact that she is a liar and uses a magic quick-quotes-quill to take notes on, (seriously jealous of that...), and Rita Skeeter is one heck of a journalist.
In Jim Willis' book entitled The Mind of a Journalist, he states:
"What motivates a young person to become a journalist? This is a very common competitive profession that primarily takes college graduates who are highly literate and who have high levels of intellectual curiosity. Yet these young journalists received average starting salaries of only $30,000 in 2006. Why make the effort? Why would a college student, active in student life and in the plethora of organizations that come with it, turn to a profession that tends to isolate its members from socializing with others? Journalism does not rate that high in popularity among the general public, and many parents worry that their children will not be able to make much of a living if they become journalists."
Willis does a thorough job later on in his book of answering his question. However, I want to answer it. WHY indeed would a young and intelligent college student want to work in a competitive and stressful environment for such little pay? It makes no sense....
Well, take it from this college student, the industry is fun. It is exciting to be a journalist. I had my first glimpse of what it would be like to be a news reporter during the summer of 2009 when I interned at Fox5 in Vegas on the MORE show and loved every moment of it. It is only now that I have taken a lot of Comms classes and become involved in the BYU news program that I realize how truly CLUELESS I was when I started the job, but I left realizing that I was a good journalist.
But alas, I digress, and we still need to answer: WHO IS A JOURNALIST?
During our first class in Principles of Journalism, we discussed this question. I jotted down some of my fellow students' answers:
-journalists are the voice of the voiceless
-journalists are independent monitors of power
-journalists provide a public forum for public criticism and comment
-journalists make the news significant, relative, and interesting
I love all these answers, and I agree with all of them. Journalists have a huge role in today's world. We are the unofficial 4th branch of government. We have a huge influence in everyone's lives and have a huge impact on government, politics, and the change we want in the world. We are the people who spread good news and bad news, and the people that everyday citizens rely on for obtaining information.
When answering the question WHO is a journalists, I believe that everyone who wants to be a journalist can be a journalist. In our modern world of facebook, blogging, tweets, and iPhones; we have the world of information sharing at our fingertips. Fifty years ago, if someone wanted to be heard by massive amounts of people and share their opinion on something or share a news story, they had to contact their local paper, write an editorial, wait for it to get approved, maybe have it published, and then hope someone would read it. Nowadays you can get on blogspot.com, make a blog, update your blog, and have millions of potential readers instantaneously. I have been a journalist for years now, ever since I dove into the world of social media and communication. I may have a college degree in a few years that will enable me to get a job and be an "official" journalist complete with a cubical at a local station and a shiny press pass, but I believe that I have been a journalist now for quite some time and a no college degree was needed for me to feel that way.
I love when people tell me they read my blog. I absolutely adore it. Some people get creeped out by the whole internet "stalking" world we find ourselves in right now. I personally don't mind it at all. Knowing that people are out there are reading my opinions about random subjects ranging from the Jonas Brothers to political issues is really cool. My thoughts and feelings are available at anyone's fingertips. I am a journalist. Forget all those complex definitions my clever fellow Comms students came up with. A journalist can be anyone. That is my simple answer. Technically speaking, you need a college degree and a "high level of intellectual curiosity," but in the world of getting out information to the public, we all have the chance to be a journalist.
This blog post is dragging on, but I hope it was somewhat informative. I think it's really cool how BYU relates all their offered courses to the gospel, so I will end with a scripture, as we often do in our classes. This is D&C 134:3-
"We believe that all governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people if a republic, or the will of the sovereign."
According to this scripture, journalists are the voice of the people. I find it so amazing that God's hand was involved in the formation of the Constituion which ensures the rights of freedom of the press. I am a part of a profession that has the approval of our loving Heavenly Father, and knowing that makes me all the more excited to......
Keep your eyes peeled for more musings about media and journalism on my blog.
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