What is journalism? Who is a journalist?

What is Journalism?
History contains the marks of society—what people eat, how they talk, where they work, how they live, etc. Journalism is written history. Journalism is the true account of a civilization as collected by people within it for the improvement of the whole. These writings can be about families, farming and athletics; these writings can be about wars, greed and crime. They can be recorded by a nationally-renowned writer or by a confused schoolboy. But journalism always presents both sides, because every story has two sides, and a journalist understands that.

Who is a journalist?
A journalist is, in many ways, an annoyer and a disturber to the general population. They write time-specific stories that are not based on popular opinion or belief. Journalists base their stories on the truth. They find the source of an event or an idea and scrutinize the details to uncover both sides of the story. Their loyalty to the truth allows them an equal obligation to all men, because personal beliefs or biases are not credible sources for a journalist.

I came to learn many of these principles on Wednesday, the 7th of March, 2006. Having read the local newspaper I became apprised of a ‘Natural Family Resolution’ that isolated single-parent homes, alienated working mothers and banished adult singles to social darkness. My position at the newspaper office enabled me the tools to respond, and as a journalist I felt the stirring obligation to my fellow-man that prompted me to respond. I gathered information from the website of the right-wing think tank which published the document, and called a help line to verify what I read. I gathered the details from the city office regarding the climate and clientele of the city council meeting wherein the document was adopted by the city of Kanab, UT. I published my column of findings in the next week’s newspaper, giving voice to those citizens who were voiceless in the matter of said ‘Family Resolution.’ The response I received from those in power was alarming because of their neglect. The response from those who were neglected was incredible because of their joy at being heard. The class divisions within the city were melted by my newspaper over the next few months, because a journalist was willing to let both sides of the story out.Journalism is about real people living real lives who both need to hear and to be heard. A journalist is someone willing and able to make that possible, through the medium of the written word. Thus journalism is a true account of life, a journalist is anyone who keeps it.