What does a News Journalist do?

A news journalist is a member of the media who reports news stories to the public. News journalists may work for broadcast outlets like television or radio or print outlets like newspapers or magazines. The job includes collecting information on the topic of the story through research and interviews. It also often encompasses writing and editing the story prior to its final publication or broadcast. Many modern people also get news from the internet, so there is a large contingent of news journalists who now disseminate information through web media outlets and news-related websites.

Those who work in television news in front of the camera have the most high-profile job out of all news journalists. Whether it's a nationally or internationally viewed news show from a broadcast or cable network that reports news from around the world or a local news show reporting on events in a specific area, television newscasters and reporters attempt to deliver the news to viewers in timely, accurate, informative, and entertaining fashion. This requires a set of skills that includes the ability to write, edit, interview, research, and, ultimately, deliver the news in what is often a live setting.

Different jobs exist within the television news spectrum. A news journalist on television may be a reporter who goes out into the field and investigates stories, then delivers reports on a nightly news broadcast. These stories may include breaking news that recently occurred or a more in-depth investigation of an ongoing story. Anchormen and anchorwomen deliver all of the day's news while on set in a television studio. Radio news journalists do much the same, only they must rely on writing skills to get the point of the story across without video to help.

Print news journalists rely on the power of the written word to deliver stories. A news journalist working for a daily newspaper must be able to investigate stories in much the same manner as broadcast news, but he or she then must distill the essence of the story to fit the space allotted that day. Magazine journalists usually have much more leeway to write longer stories and attack those stories from all angles, a luxury rarely afforded at a newspaper, where timeliness is most important.

It is impossible to overlook the impact of the internet on journalism, since many people now utilize the computer to get their news. The internet affords people easy access to news and can be constantly updated to reflect changes in ongoing story. Those advantages have widened the scope of journalism tremendously. A news journalist on the internet uses the same techniques of investigation as those in the traditional media, but he or she has limitless possibilities in terms of how that story is delivered. Bloggers, or web writers not affiliated with a news organization, can be considered news journalists, too, depending on the style and level of research and news gathering involved in the blogs' stories.