Alexander C. Kaufman
@kaufman
Journalist is a broad term that encompasses many different jobs, from opinion commentators to news photographers to magazine art directors to TV producers to social media editors. There’s plenty of variation in those jobs and many include sharing their opinions. All are supposed to be beholden to telling audiences the truth. I’m biased, but I think reporters — those of us who go out in the field or hit the phones to gather and confirm new information, collect testimonies, and bear witness to events — are a particularly important, and serve as the foundational cornerstone of the journalism ecosystem since our work is what gives the talking heads something to talk about, and helps readers decipher reality from propaganda. It doesn’t always work that way exactly, especially in an era where there are fewer and few resources to do that work, which isn’t cheap. It’s easy — as in any public-facing profession — to identify examples of those who fall short. But that’s how I see it.
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Evan
@evangreenberg
I think we need some new terms that better identify who is focused on truth and who is sharing opinions because I think all that is hurting the brand name of journalists, similar to how other institutions have lost trust
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Alexander C. Kaufman
@kaufman
I agree. I think independent journalists are on the rise for that reason. We do have a term in the industry for journalists who do schlocky work or shill for their preferred politicians or lie — we call them hacks.
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