What is a Journalist?

No, Really! What is a Journalist These Days?

Long time no see! I’ve been a bit tied up between working on a couple of news articles and preparing for the Fall semester, which has already started. A lot has happened since the last post and while I ought to focus on them, I also want to write about something that is equally important and needs to be discussed more.

And that is: what is a journalist? And who qualifies as one?

That may seem like an easy question to answer, but that is until you start to explore the many ways to become a journalist and the fact that the Internet has allowed many to be journalists all by themselves. In this way, the label of “journalist” is probably be redefined and if it isn’t, then it ought to be by now.

Some journalists, presently or formerly, would say they became journalists when their first news article was published - and that could be in the school/college newspaper or their first professionally published news article. On the broadcast side, that’s a different story because not all broadcast journalists go on air. You have the writers, the line producers, the senior producers, the field producers, and the production assistants. All these count as journalists even if they work behind the scenes. The same goes with radio or news podcast crews. They work behind the scenes but few ever know it.

Other examples are getting your Bachelors’ or your Masters’, and even surviving a busy news day whether in the newsroom or in the field. Maybe it was getting your first email or social media message where someone thanked you for your reporting, or cursing you out for something they didn’t like about your reporting.

Or maybe it is when you get that big pat on the back from your boss.

It’s all endless and that’s likely because there are no credentials in being a journalist. The only credentials you may see are when someone out in the field covering a public event wears a badge that indicates where they work or the local police recognize them as journalists so they can report on accidents, crimes, protests, and so on. Other than that, there’s no licensing like there is for teachers or hairstylists, no uniform like it is for cops and firemen, or even recognizable clothing like the scrubs you see workers in the medical field. And you don’t necessarily need a Journalism degree because there are many roads into that field. That includes English, political science, communications, media studies, history, etc.

And this is why anyone can be a journalist. Because all you need is an avenue to reach your audience, and that’s it. That’s pretty much it.

Thanks to the Internet, you have bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, and others who can fall under the category of journalists. These same journalists can monetize their work through platforms such as Patreon and Ko-Fi, or simply tell their audience about their Venmo or CashApp handle. And then you have TikTok and YouTube which allow content creators of many kinds to monetize their videos, though there are strict guidelines on both sites.

These journalists are often called “indie” journalists. Meaning, they work by themselves and for no other outlet. However, some indie journalists become well-known enough that they begin to work for other outlets. Among them is Elad Eliahu, who had his own YouTube channel before teaming up with Timcast News. But perhaps the most famous of them is Taylor Lorenz, a technology and culture journalist who went from indie to a columnist at the Washington Post. She has a book coming out about the history of the Internet and she hosts the podcast, Power User. She even has her own Substack newsletter.

In fact, it is in this newsletter that Lorenz recently wrote about the rise of content creators “infiltrating” (if you call it that) into areas traditional journalists and other media insiders had access to. While they still do, these traditional news workers find themselves side-by-side with an indie journalist with a noted blog, podcast, or YouTube channel. That can cause a sneer.

But Lorenz points out that cannot happen: “Many in legacy media institutions perceive the rising influence of content creators as a direct threat to their long-standing dominance, and their concerns are justified. The influence of content creators is part of a broader transformation in the media landscape that is dismantling the old guard, empowering millions who previously had no voice or influence in our political system, and creating vast new sectors of the economy—all while rendering many traditional institutions, whose business models were already crumbling, increasingly obsolete.”

Perhaps indie journalists are the future of journalism, especially with the industry in serious trouble with frequent layoffs and newspapers folding left and right. But of course, there are concerns about these indie journalists being clearly biased in their reporting when no producer or editor holds them accountable. But I have seen comments on social media, where this conversation has been a big one and many are giving their thoughts on this topic. Some say while they know these indie journalists are biased, they are open and honest about it. This would be unlike the traditional news outlets which say they are balanced and unbiased, yet do the opposite. Also, producers and editors may insist that the traditional reporter be biased if that reporter doesn’t want to be. At least, the indie journalists are making that decision themselves.

I’m excited by this future of journalism but I am concerned about a few things. Who holds indie journalists accountable? What if they blend journalism with misinformation? We already have that problem with traditional journalism. Why make it worse?

Either way, this proves there is no one way to be a journalist or be labeled as one. Except for how the Society of Professional Journalists defines it. In short: be accountable, be accurate, be transparent, respect the audience’s need for information, and so on (read more here).