What is your idea of the perfect journalist/reporter?

Question

I'm in my last semester and a half of college and I'm a journalism major. I hear lots of people complaining about journalists and how they're about as trustworthy as lawyers, overall and how they're either too liberal or too conservative ,etc.

I wanted to know what your idea of a perfect journalist is? I want to know how I can become a reporter who covers stories in the most non-biased way I possibly can and it's something I take very seriously to become a reporter who isn't a pain in the neck to whatever beat I may cover but to be looked at as a gatekeeper and an opportunity to get information to the readers or listeners.

googie, all the FOX NEWS reports pretty much support the president it seems...and there's not as much political bias in the press as complained about. It's mainly just Republicans who are afraid of change and don't like new ideas. Journalists aren't inherently liberal, they're just looking for new story ideas.

And look at how much endorsements Bush had in the 2000 election...he had more than Gore in newspapers.

You have to educate yourself on this and not just shoot from the hip because you have a political agenda.

Answer 1

Good luck in your career.
I'm glad you want to a good job...it isn't true that all journalists are not trustworthy.
Always be objective and tell the truth.
Just remember when you do that, since there are two sides, someone is not going to be happy.
They may say they didn't say what you said, or you misconstrued their words. That's why on tough stories, you save your notes or tapes.
Don't be arrogant or a jerk or a know it all.
Be accurate to a fault.
Prove yourself to be reliable, don't promise anything and be true to your sources.
People realize they need the press just as much as the press needs them.
You want to be the one they want to go to.
Most of all, work with an experienced editor who knows the limits of how far you can go. That will help protect you.
P.S. Nobody's perfect.

Answer 2

It doesn't exist and is not likely to any time soon.

I just want information, leave the spin somewhere else. The problem is that would require someone not to have any opinion at all. That sort of person just doesn't exist. And, if they did, it would be so easy to blow smoke up their skirt that you couldn't believe anything they said anyway.

Until then I seek out known sources. If I know which way they spin, I can pit one against the other to find the truth somewhere in the middle.

Just do your best to eliminate your own bias and be honest and complete. I think if you tell the whole story it will be hard to slant it very much. If you can team with someone who holds an opposite view from your own it might help. (I like Hannity and Combs for that reason. My only complaint is Combs isn't nearly as dynamic as Hannity.) At any rate, most readers will appreciate it. It is very hard to do but if you can pull it off you will be welcome in a lot of homes.

Answer 3

Sebastian Junger.
I have read pretty much everything he has done because, like me, he studied cultural anthropology. By mixing this major along with journalism, he developed a way to cover a story in a non-biased way.
When he did a cover of Cyprus, he combined information from both the north and the south in a way I never imagined.

Answer 4

My greatest gripe against television reporters is that they don't allow the person they are interviewing to express themselves, they always seem to be jumping on them with more questions and not letting them finish off their sentenses. Remeber a journalist or reporter is supposed to be a conduit of information, we don't want to hear your opinion, we want to know what the other person has to say wether we like what they're about or not. If a journalist has a personal opinion they can express it in the editorial or opinion section of the newspaper, where it's clear the writer is expressing their own views.

Answer 5

A journalist following or not breaking a single rule in the Journalism coed of ethics.
Rules were meant to be broken? Journalists wouldn't do that in public would they?

Answer 6

Medium build. Toned. Taller than me. Well groomed. Knows what he wants. Not afraid to walk the walk and not the talk. Intelligent conversation. Doesn't care what others think or say. Open Minded. Not afraid to say what he feels and shows it. Someone who loves me for me. Respectable. Sense of Humor. Takes charge. Someone who can deal with the emotions of a woman.

Answer 7

Unfortunately, there is no such animal as a perfect journalist/reporter. A prime reason for that statement is the teaching of the subjects is primarily in the hands of scholars whose bent is liberal. Thus an automatic happening is to see facts in that light. In your studies , how many reporters supported the government' s or the President"s position against the number who opposed?

Answer 8

An honest reporter, how you would do that I don't know. It's very difficult to get honest reporting considering misinformation.

A reporter that doesnt twist things his/her liking would be nice. eg. the eeejits that "report" in those glossy mags

Answer 9

michhele tafoya