Qualities and Responsibilities of Journalists

Qualities and Responsibilities of Journalists 

1:READING NEWS PAPERS REGULARLY

2:DETERMINATION OF TELLING THE TRUTH

3:INTEREST IN PEOPLE

4:DEMONSTRATE PATIENCE AND TOLERANCE

5:STRONG OBSERVATION AND GOOD NEWS

6:DECISION MAKING ABILITIES 

7: ABILITY TO DEAL WITH EVERY SITUATION

8: KNOWLEDGE ABOUT PROFESSIONAL FIELD
9: KEEP IN TOUCH WITH SOURCE
10 BEHAVIOUR AT PARTY EVENTS AND MANNERS
11: KNWOLEDGE ABOUT FIELD AND PRODUCTION EDITING ETC 

RESPONSIBILITIES 
1: PREPRATION BEFORE GOING TO COVER ANY NEWS STORY INCIDENT OR EVENT
2: COVER AND ASSIGNMENT 
3: HONESTY 
4: OBJECTIVITY AND FAIRNESS
5: FINDING AND WORKING ON EXCLUSIVE STORIES
6:BE READY FOR UNEXPECTED INCIDENTS
7:PROTECT YOUR SOURCE
8: MAINTAIN DIARY OF EVENTS 

Qualities and responsibilities of a journalist. The job of a reporter is to gather news and write it for his organization. ... He should be able to compare various news values and decide where to being his story and should not miss important details.  A reporter should have clarity of mind and expression.

1: READING NEWS PAPERS AND BOOKS REGULARLY

Reading newspaper is a good habit that can provide a great sense of educational value. It carries information about politics, economy, entertainment, sports, business, industry, trade and commerce. With this habit, it will enhance your knowledge about general information. A journalist should be aware of every incident happening around him and world. Political books help to have knowledge of previous happenings.

GOOD GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
A good journalist is one who knows something about everything. They are well-informed news junkies especially in the area of politics, current affairs and law. There are plenty of ways to improve one’s general knowledge, from watching TV quiz shows and doing the newspaper quizzes to online searches, playing board games or even using your local or school library to access things like atlases, dictionaries and encyclopedias.A good journalist must be curious about all things. He/she must always be questioning the world in which he/she lives in.

 A reporter must know in details regarding the subject matter to be addressed and he must report on that topic in due time. Otherwise, The object of a report would go in vain. So, knowledge and timeliness is also essential qualities of a good reporter.

2: Determination of telling the truth 

A journalist must be an honest person by nature. There is no room in journalism for manipulation and/or lies. The truth is the truth. A journalist must look at the world objectively, but not too objectively that it hinders his/her ability to think critically.A good journalist must be loyal. He/she must always keep in mind their job’s purpose as a journalist: to be the public’s watchdog. A journalist must always do his/her job for the good of the public’s interest.

 Sometimes the truth is unsavory or damaging, but despite that, the truth is still paramount. Nothing should be hidden because of self-interest or bias however unfortunate the information - there is a responsibility to the public to show transparency.

3: Interest in people 

A good journalist must be kind. He/she deals with different people daily, whether it be sources, co-workers, state &/or national officials. A good journalist must be kind, unless someone warrants it to be any different.

 TO BE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

A journalist has to observe the maximum caution in spreading news, names and images of accused people for minor offenses leading to mild punishments, except in cases of particular social interest. A journalist must check all information obtained by his sources, he must accept responsibility for and control the origins of what he says, and he must always safeguard the substantial truth of facts. A journalist cannot discriminate against people on grounds of race, religion, mental and physical conditions or political opinions.

4: Demonstrate patience and tolerance 

The news is called news for a reason. When new, exciting or upsetting things occur people want to know about it to better understand and contribute to the world in which they live. For this reason, publications and the journalists that work for them need to provide a public forum regarding the important events and ideas to promote discussions at all levels.

However, it is not solely about talking. As many of us can attest to, people can talk and often do about the most mundane and inconsequential things, while ignoring the real issues. Journalists, being the presenters of this topical information, should be involved in pinpointing the important topics or aspects of those topics to engage people in relevant conversation about the state of society. This should be for the purpose of progressing society to a place we want it to be and not to achieve the highest number of habitual followers for a publication.

TO MAINTAIN PROFESSIONAL SECRECY
In cases in which the sources require secrecy, a journalist has to respect the professional secrecy and has to be able to inform the reader of such circumstance. A journalist respects the right of secrecy of every person and he may not publish news about someone’s private life, unless they are transparent and relevant to the public interest, however, he must always make known his own identity and profession when he gathers such news.
The names of victims of sexual violence can be neither published, nor can a journalist give details that can lead to their identification unless it is required by the victims themselves for relevant general interest.

5:STRONG OBSERVATION AND GOOD NEWS SENSE 

OR  EYES FOR INDICATING NEWS STORY

A good reporter should have an eye for what is newsworthy and should be able to produce new stories without being told. A good reporter should be able to gather facts in a very careful and accurate way

NEWS SENSENews sense is the basic quality of newsmen. News sense is essential for a reporter. He has to have news sense or nose for news to distinguish news from non-news. He is the first reader of a copy and if he has made a mistake he has to correct it. A bad copy may have the most important element of the story buried in the fourth paragraph. He should be able to compare various news values and decide where to begin his story and should not miss important details.

TO OBSERVE
A reporter is one who observes the passing show in the widest sense of the word and pictures its detail for the benefit of the whole society. He cannot play his part successfully unless he keeps his eyes open and his mind attuned to the present, future as well as the past. He must have the observation power to select news from the open world.

FINDING THE ANGLE
The angle of a news story is its most vital part. A news story is based on the angle it takes. Once a reporter gets all the facts about a story, the choice of selecting the right angle begins. The reporter has to decide it quickly because the story has to be reported at the earliest. So every reporter faces this question of deciding the angle.

6: DECISION MAKING ABILITIES 

A reporter or journalist should be quick in decision making. While reporting he has to take certain decision 

TO MAKE QUICK DECISION
He should be able to grasp the situation quickly and reduce it into writing in the shortest time and in a readable form. But while reporting news he must be able to judge its authenticity and then report the news so collected with absolute honesty. The narrative should be attractive so that the readers should enjoy reading it. In such a circumstance, he must have an eye for the important discussions/ decisions which are to be included in the report, omitting all other unimportant/irrelevant matter.

POWER TO MAKE THE RIGHT QUESTION
Must be good at ask the right questions at the right time. A good reporter must be able to analyze and interpret information. He should have an ability to ask critical questions to the source. A person of snobbish, uppish and patronizing temperament has little or no chance of success in this line. A shy and a reserved type of young person are totally unfit to become a successful reporter. He must possess abundant self-confidence, so as not to be over-awed by the rank or position of an individual. He should be a man of initiative and should not be easily disheartened or discouraged.
MAINTAIN CODE OF CONDUCT
Either way, a journalist must be fair all the time and maintain a level of objectivity in what they report. The best journalist is one who has strong ethical and moral codes of conduct that help them determine what information to write and what to leave out. Reporters are people that no media organization can do without. For example newspapers all over the world rely on their reporters for their news contents. A reporter’s job is therefore a very important one.

7: ABILITY TO DEAL WITH EVERY SITUATION 

The work of news gathering is quite an unpredictable one. One might never know when news will break or where it will happen. It is for this reason that a reporter should be able and willing to work at irregular hours. A reporter should be a good team player and be capable of working with other reporters, photographers and even editors. He should have an ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines. The nature of the job being such, an ‘up-and -doing” type of person proves successful in this line. Naturally, persons who prefer fixed working hours and regular routine in daily life are unsuitable for this job.
The above are some of the basic qualities that reporters should have regardless of whatever medium they are working – print media or broadcast media. If they develop these qualities, will be on the way to becoming a good reporters

8: KNOWLEDGE ABOUT PROFESSION AND FIELD 

FOLLOW PRESS LAWS, ETHICS AND CODE OF CONDUCT
Press freedom is a word that is commonly used. By this, we mean the right to publish news without any restriction or control. But this does not mean that anything about anybody can be published. There are certain rules of conduct or principles of morality which we have to follow while reporting. The reporter should check and verify that the news which he writes is correct, accurate, and factual. He should not write anything that is misleading, inaccurate, defamatory, vulgar or obscene. Media should not intervene into the privacy of individuals. Also media should not report anything that harms national interest. If a report published in the paper defames the reputation of a person, that individual can file a defamation case in the court of law. The editor, printer or publisher is liable to be punished either individually or jointly