Who am I as a journalist?

By Esther Abegale Cinco

“Passion…you must have that heart or calling, journalism isn’t just a job.”

With the advancement in technology, the line that stands between who gets to call themselves ‘journalists’ has become thinner and thinner with each passing day.

One thing that would best describe how the public access news on social media would be ‘easier’.

It has become easier for the people to collect information on the internet, with all the access that they have in their hands.

However, assessing if this news is true and valid is a must especially that disinformation is all around the corner of the web.

 

JOURNALISTS AS PROFESSIONALS

Associate professor of Journalism at the UP College of Mass Communication, Danilo Arao explained that looking at the three dimensions: theoretical, empirical, and normative are the ways to know what a journalist is.

In assessing news, the 5 W’s are the basics. However, journalist goes beyond what is offered to them or to the public, because journalists go after the how.

The how gives another look, an angle, or a dimension perhaps of what is going on. It gives a new flavor as to how news should be read or seen

A veteran and award-winning journalist, Inday Espina Varona added that news gathering, processing of the raw facts, and dissemination is what journalism is.

“Anybody can gather news and process these, but then there is the how. There should be a practice of ethics and standard, especially fairness, accuracy and provision of context,” Varona added.

Journalism is a public service. If one thinks otherwise, then he must be wrong.

Journalists are responsible for their readers. If one could not provide his readers with facts in the right angle, then that means that he fails as a journalist.

 

NON-PROFESSIONALS AS JOURNALISTS

There is always a separation between non-professionals and professional journalists. But the question always revolves if can normal people who did not have any journalism background be considered a journalist?

Varona expressed that non-professional can become and be considered as journalists since she has worked with them first-hand in the field.

“If they are taught, if they adhere to and pledge to follow the standards and ethics of journalism. Yes, they can,” Varona added.

Accuracy, fairness, and integrity.

This is what Varona emphasizes to be followed for one to be considered and called journalist.

For Joyce Panares, journalism as background in school is good to have but is not a requirement for one to be a journalist.

Journalism is for all if they have the passion, the heart, the standards, and the ethics for it.

 

WHAT JOURNALISM IS TO AN ASPIRANT

As one who sees herself going places in search for news and stories, who would interview and carefully listen to people, who would happily sit in a desk and write about people’s stories, journalism for me is one way of creatively telling the public that there is more out there than what they see.

To some, reading and hearing these stories takes them places. They might not be able to go there, but the words they read and the words they hear are enough to have their imagination take over their minds.

Journalism would always go back to your passion; one will not be able to make it work if he doesn’t have the heart for it.

That is the attitude that a journalist must have.

(The author is a Communications and Media Studies student of UP Visayas)