What do journalists do?

As defined in the dictionary, a journalist is “a person who writes for newspapers or magazines or prepares news to be broadcast on radio or television”. But in this day and age, with the convergence of journalism with new media landscapes such as blogs, Podcasts, Wikis, social networking and other online media, journalism has become much more than just newspapers and television. Journalists, today, are not only writing for newspapers and magazines or broadcasting news on television and radio, but they’re gathering and writing the news on many established websites of the mainstream media. With that being said, journalism has become to be not only a profession for those trained in the field, but also a hobby for many people around the globe who have established blogs, online journals, and other ways to contribute to the news, allowing ordinary citizens to participate in the phenomenon, changing the face of journalism. But regardless, journalists of all kinds always strive to do one thing: inform their readers of what’s going on in the most effective way possible. To do so, most journalists will investigate and research news events, gather information, and write stories, regardless of whether they’re an established professional or simply an eager blogger.