Journalist

Write and edit news reports, commentaries and features for newspapers, magazines, electronic media and radio or television stations.

Journalist

Roles and responsibilities

Journalists:

gather news and information by interviewing people and attending events
undertake research to provide background information for articles
assess the suitability of reports and articles for publication or broadcast, within an established style and format and edit as necessary
write articles that comment on or interpret news events and that may put forward a point of view on behalf of the publication
present reports on air
present news on air

If you wish to be a journalist, there are many fields you could explore. Most journalists work on newspapers or in radio and television, press agencies or magazines. Others move into publicity roles in government departments or work as press secretaries for government ministers or in related fields such as advertising, marketing and public relations.

Technological changes have increased the speed of exchange of information, leading to a more interpretative role for journalists. This has increased the demand for journalists with expertise in specialist fields such as economics and political science.

Journalists usually start as cadets and report routine events.

In newspapers and on radio and television, most reporters are expected to be 'generalists' and able to cover almost any topic of interest. All journalists are required to understand the laws of defamation, contempt and copyright.

Source: myFuture