Difference between a Journalist and a Reporter:

Who is Journalist?
A "journalist" is an employee of newspaper, wire service or broadcast news organization such as
a reporter, editor, news anchor, publisher, columnist and opinion writer.
Who is Reporter?
Reporter is a journalist who is usually engaged in the direct gathering and communication of public
information. They travel to the scene, gather information and quotes from sources such as police
or fire crews or witnesses, and put together a story.
Importance of Reporter:
➢ Reporters are people that no media organization can be run without them.
➢ Newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations rely on news reporters to keep their
readers, viewers and listeners informed.
➢ Reporter’s work can often make him into minor celebrity.
Duties of Reporter:
Works under a beat: News reporters mostly work in a specific ‘beat’ that fits with their writing
talent. A beat is a media term for the area or topic a journalist covers, like crime, politics, sports,
business, etc. They may work in one or several beats at a time depending on the size of a news
organization.

“A good journalist will not rely on stories arriving gift-wrapped”

To move into respective beats: As he has to gather news, he is required to be on the move most
of the time usually within the area allotted to him.
Maintain relations with news sources: Maintain relations with news sources to develop story
ideas and compile appropriate reports.
Monitoring: Monitor daily events locally, nationally and internationally and assist others to
gather current events.
Reporting and editing: Whether it’s working for a newspaper, TV channel, radio station or news
website, there are two sides to reporting that must work in sync with each other: reporting and
editing. The reporter compiles all the information needed to create a story and then edits the story
to fit a specific news page or bulletin.
Conduct interviews: A key component of a News Reporter’s job is to conduct interviews. These
may be broadcast live, or pre-recorded and edited. The News Reporter must have done research
in advance and be prepared to ask pointed and interesting question of the interview subject.

Legal Responsibilities: In addition to serving the public interest, journalists must also follow the
law, especially regarding the confidentiality and privacy of the people they interview or write
about. For example, while journalists often tape record their interviews to ensure accuracy,
federal and state laws generally make it illegal to record a conversation without the permission of
the other party. In this case, journalists must tell their sources they're recording the interview
before it begins.

Collaboration with news editor: Collaborate with news editor to improve story presentation.
Coordination with graphics department: Coordinate with graphics department to obtain visual
elements for each story with appropriate photos or graphics.
Must know company policies: Attend weekly desk meetings and staff meetings to keep abreast
of company policies and requirements.

Maintain knowledge: Maintain knowledge on latest events and news to obtain news coverage
of important and pertinent issues.

Cultivate accuracy: A good journalist is one who double and even triple-checks the spelling of
names and gives the correct details of the events that took place. Journalists need to have an eye
for detail and not be afraid to ask questions again and again to ensure accuracy.
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.
Qualities of Reporter:
Nose for news: The nose of the news is the most important quality for professional reporters. The
good reporters must have good news hunting capacity. They must be careful to find out what is
strange and unique to many people. Even a tiny matter can be big scandals news if a good reporter
really tries to dig out the roots.
News sense: News sense is the basic quality of newsmen. News sense is essential for a reporter.
He has to have news sense which helps him 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.
Skepticism: A good journalist is one who doesn’t take things on face value. Press releases or
information given to them from people pushing for a certain agenda is only a starting point for a
good journalist. Good journalists question sources and are always prepared to dig around until they
get facts they are satisfied with.
Credible: Journalists interact with people from all walks of life who are often faced with an
extreme crisis in their lives. It is a good journalist’s duty to know what to ask and when in the most
appropriate manner. When people trust him enough to give him confidential or private information,
it is his duty as a journalist to not make that information publicly available.
Courageous and confident: You need to be brave enough to write the truth, no matter what the
consequences. Sometimes it’s not easy. You end up almost becoming friends with your sources
over time, and then one day you may be forced to write something negative about someone who
thought they were your friend. That’s just the nature of the business. Also, sometimes you have to
get mean with people who try to stonewall you and hide the truth.
Faithfulness and Neutrality: The Report must be free from biased information. The information
provided in the report must be reliable and valid. False, invalid and biased information is supposed
to hamper the decision and can affect the credibility of a reporter.
Punctuality: It is a good habit. It is always better to be punctual than reach late and ask others. A
rival may misinform you or hide some important information. If a reporter is punctual, he will be
treated with respect by his co-workers. If he is late, he will irritate them and spoil the working
atmosphere. Besides he may have to face the problem in covering events efficiently under the
pressure of deadline.
Hard working: A reporter should be able to work fast and enthusiastically on any given story.
News writing especially has a lot to do with deadlines. This therefore means that a good reporter
should be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines. If you can’t soak the pressure then it is
going to be hard to work as a reporter. Naturally, persons who prefer fixed working hours and
regular routine in daily life are unsuitable for this job.
Computer skills: The Professional reporters must have an idea of essential computer
programming like the word, excel, power-point, page maker etc. He must have knowledge of
English/Urdu typing skills, knowledge to operate email and the internet etc.
Clarity: A reporter should have clarity of mind and expression. A person who is confused himself
cannot tell a story to others. Only clarity of mind is not enough unless it is accompanied by clarity
of expression. Without clarity of expression clarity of mind has no meaning.
Good at communicative skills: The reporter has to be able to communicate with people, interpret
what information they give you, and present it to others. A journalist has to respect, cultivate and
defend the right to information of all people; for these reasons he researches and diffuses every
piece of information that he considers of public interest in observance of truth and with a wide
accuracy of it.
Language expertise: Good reporter should learn to communicate idea in correct and effective
language. They should write in the simple, direct pose without using complicated sentences. A
good reporter should report in such a way that the targeted audience can understand. Otherwise,
his news will not make any sense. We know that a good student is a half journalist. He has the
sense of journalistic presentation. So, a reporter must be a language expert.
Focused and brave: News reporting work can also get dangerous as reporters cover wars, political
uprisings, fires, floods, and other disasters. It's important that reporters are able to stay focused and
brave. They also must know how to keep themselves safe while doing reporting in such events.
Problems for a reporter:
➢ The work of a news reporter is usually hectic. They are under great pressure to meet strict
deadlines. Newspapers have to get printed and delivered to people’s homes on time. This
means doing whatever it takes to get a story written and edited on time.
➢ In an even more hectic environment, some reporters are on scene trying to get a story while
sirens and police or curious onlookers distract from the task at hand.
➢ This kind of work can also get dangerous as reporters cover wars, political uprisings, fires,
floods, and other disasters.
➢ A good journalist is never off duty. This kind of work demands long hours, irregular
schedules, and some travel.
➢ Most reporters earn less salary.