Journalism at Its Finest

Ben Firrell

bf652218@ohio.edu

    It can take a lot out of someone to be the best journalist that they can possibly be. I say that because the best journalists are always as truthful as possible, presenting true facts that might not always be the "fun" facts that people signed up for. And while some people might try to ignore some of those harsh realities that exist all around this world, for a journalist, those harsh realities are some of the things that people need to be well informed on, whether they want to be or not, therefore making these facts the ones that reporters need to get reported quickly, and more important, accurately.

(Picture Source: cjr.org)

    Another thing that makes good, proper journalism hard for some reporters is that some of those true facts that people don't like, journalists don't necessarily like either. It can be something simple like a new report about some fruit not being as healthy as we thought it was, or it can be a bad report about a politician that they were going to vote for. But these bad facts, any way you put it, can also most definitely affect the reporter themselves too, which is yet another thing that distinguishes the best of the best from the majority of the rest, the ability to be as impartial on each story as possible to present the best possible work of journalism for the people. 

    Journalism isn't necessarily a career where you're only trying to make a living, keep your head down and serve yourself. Reporters are responsible for what everyone is always talking about, day in and day out. 

    Think about it. Most people when they get up in the morning try to read something, to catch up with what's going on around them, whether that be in their home city or across the oceans. People want to be aware and its a reporters job to let them be as aware as they want to be by giving them every correct fact and quote that we have on each story to make sure that they know as much as we do. The American Press Institute did a few studies on Americans and how they get their news and 23.5% of Americans still prefer their news in the morning, with a majority staying updated throughout their whole day.

    Journalism at its finest has several qualities, but it seems that the utmost important quality that the best journalists have is the truth. It all starts here. If you can't present the public the accurate truth to the best of your ability in each and every story that you get, you're not going to make it very far in this industry. The best of the best in this industry are the ones who serve the public to the best of their ability.