ROLES OF A REPORTER

Paper: Reporting & Editing for Print

Unit 1

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ROLES OF A REPORTER

“If you’re a reporter, the easiest thing in the world is to get a story. The hardest thing is to verify. The old sins were about getting something wrong, that was a cardinal sin. The new sin is to be boring,” quotes David Halberstam, an American journalist, writer and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history and many more.

DEFINITIONS:

v “Being a reporter seems a ticket out to the world”

-        Jackie Kennedy (American socialite, writer and photographer)

·       A person who reports, especially one employed to report news or conduct interviews for the press or broadcasting media.

·       A reporter is a journalist who goes out and gets the scoop on the news and informs the masses. If there’s a news conference or a train crash, a reporter is probably there getting the lowdown.

·       As Michael Connelly, an American author quotes, “As a reporter, you develop an ear for dialogue because it’s your job to capture it accurately.”

·       A person whose job is to discover information about news events and describe them for a newspaper or magazine or for radio or television.

·       A person who makes authorized statements of law decisions or legislative proceedings.

·       A person who makes a shorthand record of a speech or proceeding.

·       A person employed by a newspaper, magazine, or television company to gather and report news.

·       A person who broadcasts news.

·       The definition of a reporter is a person who gathers information and writes about it.

·       He is a journalist who investigates, edits and reports news stories for newspapers, radio and television.

 “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”

-Thomas Jefferson (Third US President)

What Is the Difference Between a Journalist & a Reporter?

·       The difference between a journalist and a reporter is a little like the difference between a police officer and a homicide detective; the second is just a specific instance of the first.

·       While there are many different kinds of careers in journalism, a reporter's job covers a narrower scope and requires a specific skill set.

·       The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics defines a reporter as an individual who informs the public about regional and international events.

·       Reporters are a subset of journalists. Many journalists work as reporters, but not all reporters are journalists. In some forms of media, such as radio or TV, producers or research teams, rather than reporters, are responsible for fact-checking.

·       Reporters play a specific role in the news industry. They are usually tasked with delivering a story through a medium but may not be the person who conducted the research.

 

“‘If there’s anything that’s important to a reporter, it is integrity. It is credibility.”

-Mike Wallace (American Journalist)

FUNCTIONS OF A REPORTER

●      Analyze and collect information through various modes such as personal interviews and news briefings to prepare news reports.

●      Monitor daily events locally, nationally and internationally and assist others to gather current events.

●      Prepare reports to keep the public informed about daily happenings.

●      Coordinate with news editors and fellow reporters to develop story ideas for report writing.

●      Maintain relations with all news sources on a daily basis to develop story ideas and compile appropriate reports.

●      Perform research and write international, local and national news.

●      Analyze and ensure accurate and crisp news reporting to avoid ambiguity and redundancy.

●      Collaborate with news editors to improve story presentation.

●      Work in assigned beat areas once every week to gather all local news.

●      Coordinate with the graphics department to obtain visual elements for each story with appropriate photos or graphics.

●      Manage staff photographers for all reports of local events.

●      Develop breakout boxes for each story to emphasize lead points.

●      Administer all news writing to meet deadlines.

●      Attend weekly desk meetings and staff meetings to keep abreast of company policies and requirements.

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

“My goal, as always, is simply to inform the public about an issue that is nearly impossible for them to learn about on their own. That is my only goal as a reporter.”

                                                     -Dana Priest (American Journalist, writer & teacher)

QUALITIES OF A REPORTER

“Am I perfect? No. Do I want to be perfect? No, because if I were perfect, I would be a reporter.”

-        Paul LePage(American businessman and politician)

1.      COURAGEOUS AND CONFIDENT - A good reporter should be courageous and confident. Timidity on the part of any reporter will get them nowhere.

2.     TRUSTWORTHINESS/CREDIBILITY – A reporter must exhibit characters and behaviors that make him or her to be believed and trusted by people. 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.

 3.     DEVELOP GOOD WRITING SKILLS – A good journalist is one who writes articulately, succinctly and quickly in an interesting and relevant way that appeals to readers.

4.     PERSISTENCE - It is very important for reporters to be persistent and stick to what they are working for. This quality is very much important for gathering information and presenting the accurate facts.

5.     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.

6.     INQUISITIVE - A good journalist is one who is nosy. Where did the money for the project come from? Why is this politician supporting this policy? Why are these construction workers not wearing their head gear? A good journalist is one who is curious and burns with the desire to know what is going on in the world.

7.     NEWS SENSE/ NOSE FOR NEWS - News sense is the basic quality of newsmen. News sense is essential for a reporter. He has to have news sense or nose for news to distinguish news from non-news. 

8.     INTEGRITY - A journalist must not publish images and photos of people involved in daily episodes which are particularly terrifying or prejudicial to people’s dignity, nor may he dwell upon details of violence or brutality unless for a prominent reason of social interest. He may not intervene in reality to create artificial images.

9.     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.

10.  ALERTNESS - A reporter should always be alert while dealing with his subjects. Many major news breaks in the past were possible because of alertness of sources. A reporter has to be alert while working on news-beat.

11.   DISCIPLINE & PUNCTUALITY – A reporter needs to be disciplined understand the amount of seriousness associated with his work and duties as a reporter. 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 of backlog of copy which he will have to clear under the pressure of deadline.

12.  DETERMINED - a reporter should be determined towards his work, keeping in mind all the troubles that are faced while gathering the information. Even though it may be a struggle at times, he should be focused on his goals.

13. GOOD GENERAL KNOWLEDGE - A good journalist is one who knows something about everything. They are well-informed especially in the area of politics, current affairs and law.

14. RESPONSIBILITY AND FAIRNESS - A good journalist is one who is able to take personal responsibility for what they write. They must keep in mind that there will be people who will be upset because they disagree with the angle of the story or because they wanted their story to be given more importance.

 

15.  ENTHUSIASTIC AND CURIOUS - Curiosity is another very important quality of any good reporter. There is the need to be curious all the time. The spirit of curiosity helps the reporter get good stories.

16.  HIGHLY COMPETITIVE - There are many other opportunities for journalists as long as they are determined and competitive.

17.  HARDWORKING - 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.

18.  POWER TO MAKE THE RIGHT QUESTION - Must be good at ask the right questions at the right time. A good reporter must be able to analyze and interpret information. He should have an ability to ask critical questions to the source.

19.  ACTIVE LISTENER - A reporter can get good stories by listening to others. He has to have good listening and observing skills so as to have the nose for new news stories and events which are worthy of being recorded.

 “Journalism is the first rough draft of history”.

-Phillip L. Graham (American publisher and owner of The Washington Post)

DUTIES OF A REPORTER

 Ø  Reporting Duties

Before journalists can write about a subject, they must first gather information. They usually conduct several interviews with people involved in or having knowledge of the subject. They may also go to the scene of an event, such as a crime or an accident, to interview witnesses or law enforcement officers and to document what they see. In addition, they often search public records or other databases to find information and statistics to back up their stories. Researching a story is often similar to conducting an investigation, and journalists must sometimes ask difficult

questions. They may have to invest a lot of time tracking down information and people relevant to the story.

 Ø  Working with People

Even though a news article bears a single journalist's byline, the process requires significant collaboration. How good a journalist's story is often depends on how adept he is at communicating and working with others. For example, journalists take instruction from their editors regarding what angle to approach when writing a story, how long the story should be and whom to interview. They also need strong people and communication skills so they can persuade sources to talk to them. Journalists frequently approach people they don't know, whether when reporting from the scene or calling to request an interview. If they're uncomfortable around

strangers, they'll make others uncomfortable as well, making it less likely that people will want to be interviewed.

 Ø  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. Journalists must also understand the laws regarding libel and invasion of privacy. If a journalist is careless when reporting criminal allegations against a person, for example, he could face a defamation lawsuit if the accusations are proved untrue.

 Ø  Ethical Responsibilities

Some aspects of a journalist's job are not subject to any kind of law but are just as important. Journalists must strive to present an accurate, well-balanced explanation of the stories they cover. For example, they have an obligation to present all sides of an issue, and to conduct extensive research and talk to several sources knowledgeable about the subject. If they present only popular opinion, or if they conduct minimal research without fully exploring the subject, they don't give readers and viewers the information they need to understand the implications of the event or issue. Journalists must also be honest with the people they interview, telling them before talking to them what the article is about and that they plan to quote them in the piece.

 “Everything is being compressed into tiny tablets. You take a little pill of news everyday -23 minutes- and that’s supposed to be enough.”

-Walter Cronkite (American broadcast journalist)

 Compiled & Submitted by:

Sakshi Suman and Tanya Pratap
Class Representative – B.A. (Hons.) Journalism Batch ‘23
Lady Shri Ram College for Women 

Group members:

1.      Jaisila Bajaj

2.     Anjita Sharma

3.     Puja Bhuyan

4.     Kriti Kumar

5.     Satakshi Darmwal

6.     Vidhi Gupta

7.     Tenzin Woeden

8.     Priyanshi Bharadwaj