By Mark Longyen
Social Media influencers without requisite media qualifications aren’t journalists.
Uncertified and untrained so-called Special Assistants on (Social) Media to politicians aren’t journalists!
YouTubers without journalism or mass communication certificates aren’t journalists.
Content creators without journalism or mass communication certificates aren’t journalists.
Podcast hosts without journalism training aren’t journalists.
TV anchors and presenters without requisite journalism training aren’t journalists.
Public Relations practitioners, who are not certified/trained in journalism aren’t journalists.
A barely literate person with just a smartphone and internet connection doing a show host, without a formal journalism background, isn’t a journalist.
Who then is a journalist?
A journalist MUST be a trained and certified professional media practitioner, who among others:
Writes stories strictly in the public interest, i.e, what the public should know, no matter whose ox is gored, including that of his paymaster, employer or benefactor.
Professionally speaking, the journalist’s job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
A journalist must be brilliant, current and conversant with media law and ethics.
Constitutionally, he must never disclose his news source to anyone, even at gunpoint, including security agencies and a judge.
A journalist must maintain the integrity of the profession and observe his professional oaths at all times, and especially guard against financial compromise.
The journalist must research thoroughly on all aspects of the news subject matter before turning in the story.
For instance, if someone says it’s raining outside, and another person says it’s not, the journalist’s job isn’t to go ahead and quote them, but to find out which is true!
The professional journalist is by training fearless and asks tough questions, especially during interviews, so as to exact the right responses from the interviewee.
A modern journalist must also have some basic knowledge of ICT, especially Artificial Intelligence, and fairly knowledgeable in virtually every profession, in addition to his own, otherwise he will just be left behind chasing the wind literarily.
