Definitions of a Journalist

The questions that arises when pondering a definition for what a Journalist is, "What makes a writer a journalist?"

Journalism has been argued as a profession by Splichal and Sparks (1994) and many others. Splichal and Sparks (1994) have come up with three definitions, drawn from consideration of not only, 'whether all or most journalists possess a certain set of skills, but also about the kinds of behaviour associated with journalists, the social cohesion of the group itself and its status relative to other groups'.

The first definitions is, "A Journalist is someone who earns their living from an activity of journalism, thereby defining journalism as a set of practices."

The second shows how journalism is about technical mastery, which separates journalists from those who are merely published. By this definitions the Journalist is only a Journalist if deemed by the occupational group. A member of a journalists' association is a journalist: a person who is unaccredited is not.

The third definition is a spin on social responsibility, 'Involving patterns of behavior which are grounded in that occupation but which have implications for the general department of the professional individual.'

The makeup of a journalist requires that they have a clear obligation to use their power and influence for social good rather than personal gain.

 Journalism as Practices

 You are employed on a daily newspaper. Your news editor calls you over to his desk, hands you a media release and tells you to 'follow it up'. Is what you will eventually write journalism? How do you know? Is your role different from that of the person who wrote the media release?

With an ever increasing Broadcast Media section and Online News freelance sits is anyone who publishes their Wordpress or Blog story a journalist?
 
The Australian Journalists' Association, a division of the industrial union the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), is responsible for the ethical code guiding Australian Journalists. The preamble of the Code of Ethics describles the profession of journalists as,

Journalists describe society to itself. They seek truth. They convey information, ideas and opinions, a privileged role. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, suggest and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy. They give a practical form to freedom of expression. Many journalists work for private enterprise, but all these have public responsibilities. MEAA members engaged in journalism commit themselves to honesty, fairness, independence and respect for the rights of others. (MEAA, 1997:15)

A good quote to remember is Spiderman's quote, "With great power comes great responsibility" can be applied to this code of ethics. A revision on the code of ethics in 1998 saw the addition of, 'public responsibilities'. According to the MEAA they say,

'As accountability engenders public trust, it is essential to the fulfillment of journalism's public responsibilities... Journalists have a special obligation to be accountable because it is they who claim to be one of the main methods of holding to account, on behalf of the public, others who wield power' (MEAA, 1997: 3)

For futher readings on the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics' refer to the following web link.

Employment

Journalists are hired on an individual basis by media employers who have their own definitions for 'adequate' preparation and training. This can aid in making technical mastery problematic.

 For example, an Industrial awards may specify certain competencies to be achieved by inters or cadet reporters, but has no control over an editor's decision to hire someone with no formal training at a senior level. Elliot (1986: 149-50) outlines that technical mastery in journalism is based on routine competencies as factual accuracy, speed in meeting deadlines, style in presentation and a shared set of news values.

News for Media Outlets

Providing news for media outlets is a big business. You've only got to look at News of the World. PR News sources such as Media Releases that are distributed and rhetoric in nature know that if a news item is presented to the journalist in the news organization's usual style, it is likely to be used unchanged. This is largely due to the pressure of deadlines, it is easy in this situation to apply an 'if it isn't broken, don't fix it' approach to editing.

Conclusion

The Conclusiong that can be gathered about the reality of journalism at the beginning of the 21st century is that it can no longer be described as simply in terms of employment status. Nor can its definition be limited to describing an individual who has completed a period of initiation into the practice of a workplace, because such description attached no social responsibilities to the power that individual journalist possess in framing the world for audiences.