Journalist Or Reporter

Journalist Or Reporter

The first thing a new reporter does on a beat is introduce himself to all the principle people on that beat. For example a reporter covering a federal courthouse would introduce himself to the chief judge in the district and to the US Attorney for the district, also to the clerk of the courts and the head of the US Marshal Service in that courthouse.
If I were covering the fashion world for a fashion magazine, I would first learn who the newsmakers were. You might also find out that many of the people in the fashion industry employ public relations firms to get the word out, so introduce yourself to the major PR people.
Depending on what your position is on your magazine, you might ask for help from some of the senior writers or editors. My practice was always to ask for help, no matter what the situation was. Sometimes people will see you as a threat to their jobs so they might refuse to help you, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Keep an open mind and be creative in your search for information and for contacts.
Generally speaking, you are a journalist if you write for a newspaper, magazine or other kind of journal that reports the news regularly. According to American tradition and constitutional law, the profession of journalism is separate from and independent of government regulation or registration.This is important because it is felt within the journalism profession that once we submit to being registered and licensed by government, then the government that we are obliged to report on can then decide who is and who isn't a journalist.
That means if I begin to report unfavorable facts about the way the government is doing business, they would have the power to revoke my registration and silence my journalistic voice. Generally in this country you are a journalist if you report and write the news for a regularly published newspaper or magazine.
Various news organizations issue identification cards for their own employees and that should be enough. We steadfastly resist government's attempt to regulate us.For if we allow them to regulate and license us, we also allow them to revoke that license and to silence us.I know I have repeated this principle several times, but it is important enough to bear repeating.
A journalist is a person who reports and writes the news. He is usually an employee of a newspaper, or works under a contractual arrangement with a newspaper. The term is broad, it can include peple who report for magazines or for radio and TV stations. The freedom of the press and freedom for journalists to report the news is not a universal freedom.


Reas Also:

* Journalist at Work
* Making the News